scholarly journals Significant factors for enabling knowledge sharing between government agencies within South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avain Mannie ◽  
Herman J. Van Niekerk ◽  
Chris M. Adendorff

Background: Globally, organisations have recognised the strategic importance of knowledge management (KM) and are increasingly focusing efforts on practices to foster the creation, sharing and integration of knowledge.Objectives: This study aimed to validate the significant factors that influence the effectiveness of KM between government agencies in South Africa. The commonly identified pillars of KM in the extant literature served as a primary framework in establishing these factors.Method: Data were gathered using an electronic survey made available to different national government agencies within the security cluster. Responses were analysed using structural equation modelling.Main findings: Existing literature highlighted organisational culture, learning organisation, collaboration, subject matter experts and trust as being determinants for knowledge management. The first two were identified as the most significant factors for knowledge sharing to succeed.Conclusion: Whilst there is universal consent as to the strategic importance of KM, actionable implementation of knowledge sharing initiatives appears to be lacking. This study emphasised the fact that leaders must instil a knowledge sharing culture either through employee performance contracts or methods such as the balanced score card. The study also showed that it is imperative for leaders to acknowledge that KM is a multi-faceted discipline that offers strategic advantages. Leaders of developing countries should note that they are on a developmental journey. This requires their organisations to be learning organisations, which necessitates a change in the organisational culture and knowledge interventions through their academies of learning.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-178
Author(s):  
Eric C.K. Cheng

Purpose The purpose of this paper is explore the relative effectiveness of people-based and information technology-based knowledge management (KM) strategies as implemented by principals in Hong Kong schools to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study for teachers’ knowledge sharing and internalization. Design/methodology/approach Data from 184 principals in Hong Kong were collected by a cross-sectional quantitative survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability tests have been used to examine the constructed validity and reliability of the instrument. A structural equation model was applied to confirm the predictive effect of people-based and information technology-based KM strategies on teachers’ knowledge sharing and internalization through Lesson Study. Findings Results show that people-based KM strategy predicts knowledge sharing and internalization by and among teachers. However, while information technology-based knowledge management strategies predict teachers’ knowledge sharing, they do not predict how effectively they internalize knowledge. Practical implications Cultivating communities of practice, professional learning communities and mentoring schemes in schools can nurture a knowledge-sharing culture to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study for teacher learning. Institutionalizing an information technology system can help teachers to retrieve, share and store the school’s explicit knowledge. Originality/value The paper not only suggests school management strategies and practices for school leaders to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study, but also brings a new research dimension, KM, to the research area.


2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
U. R. Averweg

The intranet is a common feature in many organizations. With the increasing use of a technology infrastructure in organizations, there is a continued challenge for employees in an organization to contribute their knowledge willingly and to make use of knowledge sharing with other employees. Intranets are well-suited for use as a strategic tool in knowledge sharing due to their ability to support the distribution, connectivity and publishing of data and information. Intranets should be seen as integral to an organization’s knowledge management strategy and should be tailored to suit and enhance an organization’s knowledge-sharing activities. The question arises: To what extent does an organization’s existing intranet facilitate knowledge sharing? From a practitioner-based inquiry perspective, this question was explored by the selection of a large organization – eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa – as the field of application. Derived from a mixed methodology approach, the results of a survey are presented. It is suggested that encouragement be given for more practitioner-based inquiry research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cut Devi Maulidasari ◽  
Riznal Akhyar

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of compensation and job security on workmotivation and its impact on the performance of the Contract Employees Civil Service Police Unitand Wilayatul Hisbah Banda Aceh. Data analysis is the process of simplification of data into aform that is easier to read and implement. The method chosen to analyze the data must match thepattern of research and variables to be studied. This study using Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) with a research tool or software such as Partial Least Square (PLS) from the research thathas been done through observation and secondary data it can be concluded that compensation, jobsecurity, work motivation and employee performance contracts Police Unit Praja dan WilayatulHisbah Banda Aceh still not good, then the hypothesis 1 is rejected. From the research that hasbeen done can be concluded that the hypothesis that compensation and job security simultaneouslyand partially effect on work motivation can be received from the research that has been done canbe concluded that hypothesis stating that compensation and job security simultaneously andpartially effect the performance is acceptable. From the research that has been done can beconcluded that the hypothesis that motivation influence on work motivation can be accepted. Theresult of this research of which it can be concluded that the hypothesis of compensation and jobsecurity simultaneously and partially influence performance through work motivation isacceptable.Keywords: Compensation, Job Security, Work Motivation, Performance


Author(s):  
Toshali Dey ◽  
Susmita Mukhopadhyay

With the growing determination to sustain in the competitive market, organizations are focusing more on developing their knowledge management system. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge sharing intentions (KSI) and affective trust (AT) on knowledge sharing (KS) behavior of employees. Additionally, the mediating influence of affective commitment (AC) of the employees in this relationship is also studied. This study uses data from a sample of 246 managers in Indian private sector firms and employs a structural equation modelling approach to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings of this study show that contrary to the results of prior research, KSI does not affect KS behavior directly. Rather, it acts indirectly through AC, which is necessary for increasing employees' loyalty and willingness to share their knowledge. Moreover, the results indicated that AT has an indirect influence on employees' KS behavior via KSI. Implications and limitations and future scope of the study have also been discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1443-1472
Author(s):  
Sergio J. Chión ◽  
Vincent Charles ◽  
José Morales

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediator role that knowledge sharing plays between organisational culture, organisational structure, and technology infrastructure and process improvement in a knowledge management context in manufacturing enterprises operating in the food, beverage and textile industry. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study is conducted with a sample of 200 food, beverage and textile companies. Data are obtained by means of a survey questionnaire applied to general managers in each of the sample firms. The impact of the factors organisational culture, organisational structure and technology infrastructure on process improvement via knowledge sharing is assessed. Structural equation modelling and maximum likelihood estimation are applied to find the direction and strength of the relationships. Findings The main findings indicate the significant relationships between knowledge sharing and process improvement, between organisational culture and knowledge sharing, and between organisational structure and knowledge sharing. The relationship between technology infrastructure and knowledge sharing is found not to be significant. Research limitations/implications The findings of the present study are limited to the food, beverage and textile industry. Future research could incorporate data from other manufacturing sectors or service companies. Practical implications This study provides practical guidance for general managers who wish to implement process improvement programmes. Originality/value Several authors have noted that there are few research studies concerning the interaction between each phase of knowledge management and total quality management practices. This study is interested in knowledge sharing and its impact on process improvement in a knowledge management context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Son Thanh Than ◽  
Cung Huu Nguyen ◽  
Thang Quang Tran ◽  
Phong Ba Le

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of knowledge sharing (KS) and two specific types of innovation on competitive advantage in Vietnamese firms. Based on using structural equation modeling (SEM) and survey data collected from 225 participants, the findings reveal that KS directly and indirectly affects firm’s competitive advantage through the mediating role of innovation speed and innovation quality. The findings stress the important role of building a positive climate to stimulate employees for sharing knowledge aimed at improving firm’s innovation capability, and sustaining competitive advantage. Future research needs to explore the relationship between three components of knowledge management namely knowledge acquisition, KS, and knowledge application, innovation, and specific aspects of competitive advantage (such as low cost advantage, differentiation advantage, and time advantage) to provide deeper the mechanism of how specifics aspects of knowledge management connected with firm’s certain types of competitive advantage through innovation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olawale FATOKI

The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of organisational culture on firm environmental performance in the context of the hospitality sector. The study used the quantitative research approach with descriptive and causal research design. The Denison organisational culture questionnaire was used to measure organisational culture. The Denison questionnaire contains four traits namely involvement, consistency, adaptability and mission. The questionnaire was distributed among 500 owner/managers of formal hotels and guest accommodations in South Africa. Data gathered were analysed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling. The results of the study indicate that the four traits of organisational culture (involvement, consistency, adaptability and mission) have significant positive impacts on the environmental performance of firms in the hospitality sector. The findings of the study can assist firms in the hospitality sector to understand the significance of internal intangible factors such as the organisational culture in the implementation of environmental sustainability initiatives.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sabbir Rahman ◽  
Bashir Hussain ◽  
Hasliza Hassan ◽  
Ishrat Jahan Synthia

Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate the effects of supportive, innovative and information technology (IT)-driven organisational culture on the optimisation of knowledge-sharing behaviour capability (KSBC) among sales executives. The authors propose that such effects are mediated by the sense of well-being (SWB) and IT-driven absorptive capacity (ITAC) among sales executives. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model was developed. Survey data were based on a sample of 323 sales executives of different manufacturing and service-intensive (i.e. business to consumers) firms. The data analyses were conducted by structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methods. Findings Results from SEM support all the direct relationships. Supportive and innovative organisational culture has a significant and positive influence on the optimisation of KSBC among sales executives, and these effects are mediated by their SWB. Moreover, the ITAC of sales executives mediated the relationships between IT-driven organisational culture and optimisation of KSBC among them. Results from fsQCA with the same data show that ITAC and SWB among sales executives are necessary conditions for the optimisation of KSBC. In addition, ten combinations of these variables were explored, where three sufficient conditions significantly influenced the outcome variable. Research limitations/implications This study is cross-sectional in nature and is conducted among sales executives by combining the data from manufacturing and service-intensive firms. To examine the proposed model, this study can be supplemented by future research using a longitudinal data collection method separately. Practical implications This research shows an effective role to optimise KSBC among sales executives in the field of knowledge management practice literature. Supportive, innovative and harmonious culture, IT-driven communication platform and well-established IT learning plans implemented by the firms can sophisticate to optimise KSBC among sales executives. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is a pioneer study conducted to explain the KSBC among sales executives by using mixed methods research. This research discusses the antecedent of knowledge-sharing capability among sales executives from the viewpoint of sales executive’s psychology and identifies the different roles of SWB and ITAC on individual’s KSBC.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1254-1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Fullwood ◽  
Jennifer Rowley

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to construct and investigate relationships between knowledge-sharing factors, attitude and the intention to share of UK academics, as research on knowledge sharing in higher education is extremely sparse. Design/methodology/approach A research model and hypotheses were constructed from individual and organisational factors that were identified to affect knowledge sharing. Questionnaire data were obtained from 367 academics concerning their attitude and intention towards knowledge sharing. This was then used in a two-stage structural equation modelling approach where the measurement model was used for confirmatory factor analysis. The structural model was used to measure and test the hypothesised relationships. Findings Findings indicate that, in general, individual beliefs amongst academics were more influential on their knowledge-sharing attitudes than organisational culture. Furthermore, leadership was the most influential factor within the overall organisational culture whereas autonomy demonstrated the weakest relationship. Belief in the possibility of rewards through associations was found to be a highly significant individual factor. The relationship between attitude and intention was relatively weak although still statistically significant. Originality/value The research demonstrates that management should ensure that departmental leaders promote knowledge sharing and that valued rewards are linked to sharing within the department.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 758-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasa SMALIUKIENĖ ◽  
Svajonė BEKEŠIENĖ ◽  
Eugenijus CHLIVICKAS ◽  
Marius MAGYLA

Although the large body of literature suggests that trust is a prerequisite for knowledge sharing, the understanding of mediational pathways remains limited. The paper fills the gap by combining two separate streams in knowledge sharing, where the first reflects the paradigm of the organizational behaviour theory and highlights the impact of organizational culture and employees’ trust; where the second one discloses the impact of technology deployment in knowledge sharing. Building on the premises that interdependence between variables that affect knowledge sharing raises form organizational culture of trust and available technologies, we examine the structural origins of knowledge sharing. As a method structural equation modelling test was used to analyse the data. Hypothesised five-factor model was tested through two stages using AMOS software. The findings carry theoretical implications for the knowledge management body of knowledge since they extended the research on knowledge sharing by integrating organisational culture and technological solutions into one complex system. Form practical perspective, the relationship among four predictors – trust in leadership, trust in co-workers, trust in technologies for knowledge management, and fear of losing one’s value – provide a proof on how organizations knowledge sharing is composed and how it could be developed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document