A qualitative research on identifying barriers to knowledge creation at university

The present study has identified the barriers of knowledge creation system by using a qualitative-explorative research approach at universities. In this research, 14 experts from the knowledge creation area were interviewed by semi-structured exploratory method and the information obtained from these interviews were analyzed through content analysis method. The findings showed the barriers of knowledge creation as following: faculty members did not have enough motivation to create new knowledge and they do not take the time to do basic and applied research. Furthermore, they are lacking the basic skills needed for knowledge creation: and knowledge sharing is not important to them. In addition, there is no appropriate organizational structure, and there is a lack of knowledge creation culture at the university. There is not enough support from university senior administrators for creating knowledge; there is not enough human resources development system; postgraduate studies have been neglected; there is insufficient communication at national and international levels; the knowledge network has not been designed and deployed;  the interdisciplinary studies have not been carried out as needed; there is inadequate facilities and equipment (hardware and software); sufficient funds are not allocated to the university; and there are no specific policies for effective communication between industry and the university. Finally, the role of knowledge-creation has been neglected in university strategies and policies. These barriers are classified into three categories: organizational, personal, and support factors.