Previous literature has highlighted that SMEs face particular knowledge sharing challenges (Zieba et al., 2016). Frequently the knowledge is kept in the minds of some key employees (Valkokari and Helander, 2007) and the unstructured ways towards knowledge management (Durst and Edvardsson, 2012) jointly with the motivations that impede knowledge sharing (Vuori and Okkonen, 2012) can lead to the risk of loosing important information. Despite such risk is partially prevented by the slow staff turnover (Durst and Wilhelm, 2011) it leads managers to limit the outflow of knowledge from the company (McAdam and Reid, 2001; Bozbura, 2007; Hutchinson and Quintas, 2008). As a consequence, the knowledge sharing is inhibited both inside the company, since SMEs usually have no explicit policy towards knowledge management and outside the company, given that managers in SMEs tend to block it. Considering that networks are seen as tools that allow SMEs to gain new knowledge, the literature call for empirical evidences (Valkokari and Helander, 2007) to investigate such phenomena. This paper contributes to address these calls providing an empirical analysis of whether and how networks enhance the knowledge sharing in SMEs. To this aim the following research question is investigated: how and in what extent networks can enhance knowledge sharing in the SMEs context? The empirical investigation is based on a survey questionnaire submitted to a sample of Italian SMEs. The findings firstly show that network is perceived by the investigated SMEs as an effective tool assisting them in knowledge sharing in several ways. Secondly, network appears to be a tool that fosters knowledge sharing, not only because it enhance the acquisition of new knowledge from outside the company, but also and more importantly because it helps in explicitating tacit and latent knowledge to let it available to be shared inside and outside the company within the network. Empirical evidences about the benefits in term of knowledge sharing from network participation are provided.
Network for Knowledge Sharing: An empirical investigation within SMEs
Francesca Rossignoli
2017-01-01
Abstract
Previous literature has highlighted that SMEs face particular knowledge sharing challenges (Zieba et al., 2016). Frequently the knowledge is kept in the minds of some key employees (Valkokari and Helander, 2007) and the unstructured ways towards knowledge management (Durst and Edvardsson, 2012) jointly with the motivations that impede knowledge sharing (Vuori and Okkonen, 2012) can lead to the risk of loosing important information. Despite such risk is partially prevented by the slow staff turnover (Durst and Wilhelm, 2011) it leads managers to limit the outflow of knowledge from the company (McAdam and Reid, 2001; Bozbura, 2007; Hutchinson and Quintas, 2008). As a consequence, the knowledge sharing is inhibited both inside the company, since SMEs usually have no explicit policy towards knowledge management and outside the company, given that managers in SMEs tend to block it. Considering that networks are seen as tools that allow SMEs to gain new knowledge, the literature call for empirical evidences (Valkokari and Helander, 2007) to investigate such phenomena. This paper contributes to address these calls providing an empirical analysis of whether and how networks enhance the knowledge sharing in SMEs. To this aim the following research question is investigated: how and in what extent networks can enhance knowledge sharing in the SMEs context? The empirical investigation is based on a survey questionnaire submitted to a sample of Italian SMEs. The findings firstly show that network is perceived by the investigated SMEs as an effective tool assisting them in knowledge sharing in several ways. Secondly, network appears to be a tool that fosters knowledge sharing, not only because it enhance the acquisition of new knowledge from outside the company, but also and more importantly because it helps in explicitating tacit and latent knowledge to let it available to be shared inside and outside the company within the network. Empirical evidences about the benefits in term of knowledge sharing from network participation are provided.
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