Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework

Knowledge is now being seen as the most important strategic resource in organizations, and the management of this knowledge is considered critical to organizational success. If organizations have to capitalize on the knowledge they possess, they have to understand how knowledge is created , shared, and used within the organization. Knowledge exists and is shared at different levels in organizations. This article examines knowledge sharing at the most basic level; namely, between individuals in organizations. Based on a review of existing literature in this area, this article presents a model that identifies factors that most significantly influence knowledge sharing at this level. In recent years, the concept of knowledge in organizations has become increasingly popular in the literature (Alvesson & Karreman, 2001), with knowledge being recognized as the most important resource of organi-knowledge has always been an important factor in organizations, only in the last decade has it been considered the primary source of competitive advantage (Stewart, 1997) and critical to the long-term sustainability and success of organizations (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). The recognition of knowledge as the key resource of today's organizations affirms the need for processes that facilitate the creation, sharing, and leveraging of individual and collective knowledge (Becerra-Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2001; Drucker, 1993). More and more organizations are attempting to set up knowledge management systems and practices to more effectively use the knowledge they have, and numerous publications have discussed the importance of knowledge in organizations. Even so, there is much to be learned and understood about how knowledge is created, shared, and used in organizations The purpose of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon of knowledge sharing between individuals in organizations. Drawing on literature from several fields of study, a model of knowledge sharing between individuals in organizations is developed. Although knowledge exists at many levels in organizations, the focus of this article is the knowledge that exists with and within individuals and the factors that influence the process of knowledge sharing between individuals. The field of knowledge management has traditionally been dominated by information technology and technology-driven perspectives (Davenport, De Long, & Beers, 1998; Gourlay, 2001). However, there is increasing recognition of the role of individuals in knowledge management processes and a growing interest in the " people perspective " of knowledge in organizations (Earl, 2001; Stenmark, 2001). The key to successfully managing knowledge is now being seen as …