Knowledge sharing amongst librarians in Cypriot libraries

Hadjipavlis, Andreas Knowledge sharing amongst librarians in Cypriot libraries., 2012 [Preprint]

[thumbnail of Knowledge sharing amongst librarians in Cypriot libraries (2).pdf]
Preview
 Text
Knowledge sharing amongst librarians in Cypriot libraries (2).pdf
Download (482kB) | Preview

English abstract

Purpose –The objectives of this paper are fivefold: 1. To ascertain whether Cypriot librarians are familiar with knowledge management; 2. To identify the willingness of those professionals to share and re-use knowledge; 3. To investigate the role of information systems in facilitating knowledge sharing; and 4. To identify organizational barriers that hinder knowledge production, 5. To be used for future studies on the subject. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research design was used. A questionnaire was distributed to Cypriot library staff, across seven libraries and their departments in Nicosia and Limassol. The questionnaires were given to all levels of employees in the organizational hierarchy. Findings – The research supported the literature and showed that knowledge sharing is a major asset in organizational success and a valuable tool to contribute to organizational processes. The paper concludes that trust, knowledge management systems and incentives are a positive influencing factor in promoting knowledge sharing by boosting the motivation and performance of employees. Research limitations/implications – This paper is the first attempt to study knowledge sharing and knowledge management in Cypriot libraries. The questionnaires returned constituted 45.83% of those distributed. The relatively small number of library staff working in Cypriot libraries allows us to undertake further studies which will aim to map knowledge sharing attitudes among Cypriot librarians. It would be interesting to extend the study to other developed European countries in order to understand similarities and differences in knowledge sharing and reveal how knowledge management is treated by other effective organizations. Originality/value – This is the first research study of Cypriot librarians concerning knowledge management (KM) and fills the gap in the literature on the subject. The findings may be used as a basis that will assist local knowledge management professionals to develop a framework to explore knowledge sharing and knowledge management in similar organizations such as libraries, museums and archives.

Greek abstract

Η διαχείριση της γνώσης δεν είναι τόσο απλή όσο ακούγεται. Πρόκειται για ένα σύνθετο κοινωνικο- τεχνικό σύστημα που συνδυάζει διάφορες μορφές παραγωγής γνώσης, αποθήκευσης, αναπαραγωγής και διάχυσης (Ardichvili et al., 2006). Ολοένα και περισσότεροι οργανισμοί σήμερα θέλουν να ξεπεράσουν αυτά τα "εσωτερικά" εμπόδια και να κάνουν την πληροφορία διαθέσιμη σε όλα τα επίπεδα της οργάνωσης. Τα συστήματα διαχείρισης της γνώσης (Knowledge Management Systems) έχουν αναπτυχθεί για να βοηθήσουν αυτή τη διαδικασία μεταφοράς γνώσης ώστε να είναι πιο ακριβής και αποτελεσματική, δίνοντας έτσι στην οργάνωση «κάτι περισσότερο» . Η επιτυχία ή αποτυχία των συστημάτων αυτών εξαρτάται από το προσωπικό ενός οργανισμού και την προθυμία τους να μοιραστούν και να χρησιμοποιούν τη γνώση. Ως εκ τούτου, το προσωπικό θα πρέπει να ενθαρρύνεται να χρησιμοποιεί αυτά τα συστήματα . Όπως οι Brown και Duguid (2000, σ. 119) αναφέρουν : «η γνώση απαιτεί ένα γνώστη" ("knowledge entails a knower"), και άρα δεν μπορεί να μεταφερθεί από μόνη της. Επομένως ο προσδιορισμός των ατόμων που θα μοιράζονται τις γνώσεις τους θα πρέπει να είναι ένα από τα κύρια ζητήματα σε έναν οργανισμό . Οι εργάτες της γνώσης (Knowledge workers) ( Drucker, 1999), βοηθούν ο ένας τον άλλο να προσθέσει νέες πληροφορίες στη "βάση γνώσης" του και να την εμπλουτίσει προκειμένου μετέπειτα να τη χρησιμοποιήσει ενστικτωδώς για την ολοκλήρωση μιας εργασίας ή για μια καινοτόμο ιδέα (Davidson και Voss, 2002). Επιπλέον, η σκέψη της ανταλλαγής εμπειριών συμβάλλει στην ενίσχυση των σχέσεων μεταξύ των μελών του οργανισμού. Ωστόσο, στη μελέτη ο συγγραφέας ενδιαφέρεται να κατανοήσει τι συμβαίνει όταν οι μη κερδοσκοπικοί φορείς , όπως βιβλιοθήκες , θέλουν να ενσωματώσουν καλύτερες ιδέες για τη διαχείριση της γνώσης . Μια σειρά από μελέτες έχουν διεξαχθεί για την οργανωτική μάθηση, τη δημιουργία γνώσης και την ανταλλαγή της γνώσης εντός των οργανισμών καθώς και τη σχέση τους με την παρακίνηση των εργαζομένων (π.χ. Gupta και Govindarajan, 2000; Tsai, 2002 ) . Ωστόσο, η επισκόπηση της βιβλιογραφίας φαίνεται να δείχνει μια σημαντική έλλειψη εμπειρικής έρευνας σχετικά με το πώς οι βιβλιοθηκονόμοι μοιράζονται και διαχειρίζονται τη δική τους γνώση. Σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν να διερευνήσει και να καθορίσει τον τρόπο με τον οποίο η εσωτερική γνώση διαχέεται και διαχειρίζεται στο πλαίσιο των βιβλιοθηκών και να εντοπίσει τυχών οργανωτικά και λειτουργικά εμπόδια που θα μπορούσαν να παρεμποδίσουν την επιτυχή διάδοσή της. Μέσα λοιπόν από την ανάλυση των αποτελεσμάτων της ποσοτικής έρευνας που χρησιμοποιήθηκε διαφάνηκε ότι η ανταλλαγή γνώσεων αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό πλεονέκτημα για την οργανωτική επιτυχία και ένα πολύτιμο εργαλείο που συμβάλει στις οργανωτικές διαδικασίες . Επίσης γίνεται αντιληπτό ότι τα συστήματα διαχείρισης γνώσης, η εμπιστοσύνη ανάμεσα στα άτομα και τα κίνητρα που δίνονται αποτελούν θετικό παράγοντα επιρροής στην προώθηση της ανταλλαγής γνώσεων ενισχύοντας παράλληλα το κίνητρο (motivation) και την απόδοση των εργαζομένων.

Item type: Preprint
Keywords: Knowledge management, Libraries, Knowledge sharing, Cyprus
Subjects: B. Information use and sociology of information > BC. Information in society.
B. Information use and sociology of information > BG. Information dissemination and diffusion.
Depositing user: Andreas K. Andreou
Date deposited: 13 Jun 2014 08:13
Last modified: 02 Oct 2014 12:31
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/23257

References

Alavi, M. and Leidner, D.E. (2001), ‘‘Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: conceptual foundations and research issues’’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 107-32.

15

Al-Alawi, A.I., Al-Marzooqi, N.Y. and Mohammed, Y.F. (2007), ‘‘Organizational culture and knowledge sharing: critical success factors”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 22-42.

Amabile, T. (1997), “Motivating creativity in organizations”, California Management Review, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 39-58.

Ardichvili, A., Maurer, M., Li, W., Wentling, T. and Stuedemann, R. (2006), ‘‘Cultural influences on knowledge sharing through online communities of practice’’, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 94-107.

Ardichvili, A., Page, V. and Wentling, T. (2003), ‘‘Motivation and barriers to participation in virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice’’, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 64-77.

Argote, L. and Ingram, P. (2000), ‘‘Knowledge transfer: a basis for competitive advantage in firms’’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 82 No. 1, pp. 150-69.

Awad, E.M. and Ghaziri, H.M. (2004), Knowledge management, Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Bartol, K.M. and Srivastava, A. (2002), ‘‘Encouraging knowledge sharing: the role of organizational reward systems’’, Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 64-76.

Baum, C. and Ingram, P. (1998), ‘‘Survival-enhancing learning in the Manhattan hotel industry’’, Management Science, Vol. 44, pp. 996-1016.

Bennett, R.H. III (1998), ‘‘The importance of tacit knowledge in strategic deliberations and decisions’’, Management Decision, Vol. 36 No. 9, pp. 589-97.

Blair, D.C. (2002), ‘‘Knowledge management: hype, hope or help?’’, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Vol. 53 No. 12, pp. 1019-28.

Bontis, N., Crossan, M. and Hulland, J. (2002), ‘‘Managing an organizational learning system by aligning stocks and flows’’, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 437-69.

Brockmann, E.N. and Anthony, W.P. (1998), ‘‘The influence of tacit knowledge and collective mind on strategic planning’’, Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 204-22.

Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2000), The Social Life of Information, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2001), ‘‘Knowledge and organization: a social-practice perspective’’, Organization Science, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 198-213.

Bukowitz, W. (1998), “At the Core of a Knowledge Base”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 215-224.

16

Cabrera, A. and Cabrera, E.F. (2002), ‘‘Knowledge-sharing dilemmas’’, Organization Studies, Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 687-710.

Constant, D., Kiesler, S. and Sproull, L. (1994), ‘‘What’s mine is ours, or is it? A study of attitudes about information sharing’’, Information Systems Research, Vol. 5, pp. 400-21.

Davenport, T.H. (1997), ‘‘The knowledge biz”, CIO, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 32-34.

Davenport, T.H. and Prusak, L. (1998), Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Davidson, C. and Voss, P. (2002), Knowledge Management: An Introduction to Create Competitive Advantage from Intellectual Capital, Tandem Press, Auckland.

Drucker, P.F. (1999), ‘‘Knowledge worker productivity: the biggest challenge’’, California Management Review, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 79-94.

Eisenhardt, K.M. and Santos, F.M. (2002), ‘‘Knowledge-based view: a new theory of strategy?’’, in Pettigrew, A., Thomas, T.H. and Whittington, R. (Eds), Handbook of Strategy and Management, Sage London.

Epstein, L.D. (2000), ‘‘Sharing knowledge in organizations: how people use media to communicate’’, unpublished dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, CA.

Fahey, L. and Prusak, L. (1998), ‘‘The 11 deadliest sins of knowledge management’’, California Management Review, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 265-76.

Foos, T., Schum, G. and Rothenburg, S. (2006), ‘‘Tacit knowledge transfer and the knowledge disconnect’’, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 6-18.

Ford, D. and Chan, Y. (2002), Knowledge Sharing in a Cross-cultural Setting: Case Study, Queen’s KBE Centre for Knowledge-based Enterprises, Queen’s University, Kingston.

Gourlay, S. (2001), ‘‘Knowledge management and HRD’’, Human Resource Development International, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 27-46.

Grace, T.P.L. (2009), ‘‘Wikis as a knowledge management tool”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 64-74.

Grant, R.M. (1996), ‘‘Prospering in dynamically-competitive environments: organizational capability as knowledge integration’’, Organization Science, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 375-87.

Grouard, B., Meston, F. and Pendlebury, J. (1999), The Ten Keys to Successful Change Management, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., London.

Gupta, A.K. and Govindarajan, V. (2000), ‘‘Knowledge management’s social dimension: lessons from Nucor steel’’, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 71-80.

Hedlund, G. (1994), ‘‘A Model of Knowledge Management and the N-Form Corporation”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 15, pp. 73-90.

17

Holm, J. (2001), “Capturing the spirit of knowledge management”, paper presented at the 37th American Conference on Information Systems, Boston, MA, August 3-5.

Holste, J.S. and Fields, D. (2009), ‘‘Trust and tacit knowledge sharing and use”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 128-140.

Hoof, B.V. and Ridder, J.A. (2004), ‘‘Knowledge sharing in context: The influence of organizational commitment, communication climate and CMC use on knowledge sharing”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 8 No. 6, pp. 117-130.

Huber, G.P. (2001), ‘‘Transfer of knowledge in knowledge management systems: unexplored issues and suggested studies’’, European Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 10, pp. 72-79.

Iyer, G.S. and Ravindran, S. (2009), ‘‘Usefulness, incentives and knowledge

Management”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 410-430.

Jashapara, A. (2004), Knowledge Management: An Integrated Approach, Prentice Hall, Harlow, Essex.

Jen-te, Y. (2007), ‘‘The impact of knowledge sharing on organizational learning and effectiveness”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 83-90.

Kanagasabapathy, K.A., Radhakrishnan R. and Balasubramanian S. (2006), “Empirical Investigation of Critical Success Factor and Knowledge Management Structure for Successful Implementation of Knowledge Management System: A Case Study in Process Industry”, available at:http://hosteddocs.ittoolbox.com/KKRR41106.pdf (accessed December 2011).

Kogut, B. and Zander, U. (1996), ‘‘What do firms do? Coordination, identity and learning’’, Organizational Science, Vol. 7, pp. 502-18.

Kwok, J.S.H. and Gao, S. (2004), ‘‘Knowledge sharing community in P2P network: a study of motivational perspective”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 94-102.

KPMG (2003), Insights from KPMG’s European Knowledge Management Survey 2002/2003, KPMG, available at: www.knowledgeboard.com/download/1935/kpmg_kmsurvey_results_jan_2003.pdf (accessed December 2011).

Lam, A. and Ford, L.J.P. (2010), ‘‘Knowledge sharing in organizational contexts: a motivation-based perspective”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 51-56.

Lindenberg, S. (2001), “Intrinsic motivation in a new light”, Kyklos, Vol. 54, pp. 317-42.

Lohr, S. (2002), ‘‘Gazing into 2003: economy intrudes on dreams of new services’’, The New York Times, December 30, p. 3.

Lunney, K. (2002), ‘‘NASA managers not sharing lessons learned, report says’’, GovExec.com, 11 February, available at: www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0202/021102m1.htm (accessed December 2011).

18

Markus, L. (2001), ‘‘Toward a theory of knowledge reuse: types of knowledge reuse situations and factors in reuse success’’, Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 18, pp. 57-93.

Matsuo, M. and Easterby, E.S. (2008), ‘‘Beyond the knowledge sharing dilemma: the role of customization”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 30-43.

Nan, N. (2008), ‘‘A principal-agent model for incentive design in knowledge sharing”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 101-113.

Nonaka, I. (1994), ‘‘A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation’’, Organization Science, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 14-37.

Nonaka, I. (1998), The Knowledge-Creating Company. Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Nonaka, I. and Konno, N. (1998), ‘‘The concept of ‘Ba’: building a foundation for knowledge creation’’, California Management Review, Vol. 40, pp. 40-54.

Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995), The Knowledge Creating Company: how Japanese companies create the dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.

Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (2003), The knowledge creating company: how Japanese companies create the dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.

Olivera, F. (2000), ‘‘Memory systems in organizations: an empirical investigation of mechanisms for knowledge collection, storage and access’’, The Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 37 No. 6, pp. 811-32.

Pan, S.L. and Scarbrough, H. (1999), ‘‘Knowledge management in practice: an exploratory case study’’, Technology and Strategic Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 359-74.

Polanyi, M. (1962), Personal Knowledge: Toward a Post-critical Philosophy, Harper Torchbooks, New York, NY.

Polanyi, M. (1966), The Tacit Dimension, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.

Reagans, R. and McEvily, B. (2003), ‘‘Network structure and knowledge transfer: the effects of cohesion and range’’, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 48, pp. 240-67.

Robertson, S. (2002), ‘‘A tale of two knowledge-sharing systems”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 295-308.

Spender, J.C. (1996), ‘‘Making knowledge the basis of a dynamic theory of the firm’’, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, pp. 45-62.

Spender, J.C. and Grant, R.M. (1996), ‘‘Knowledge and the firm: overview’’, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, special issue, Winter, pp. 5-9.

Stevens, L. (2000), ‘‘Incentives for sharing’’, Knowledge Management Magazine, October,

19

Swart, J. and Kinnie, N. (2003), ‘‘Sharing knowledge in knowledge-intensive firms’’, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 60-75.

Teece, D.J., Pisano, G. and Schuen, A. (1997), ‘‘Dynamic capabilities and strategic management’’, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 509-33.

Tsai, W. (2002), ‘‘Social structure of ’competition’ within a multiunit organization: coordination, competition and interagorganizational knowledge sharing’’, Organization Science, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 179-90.

Vazquez, R.J.C., Fournier, O.L.V. and Flores, F.R. (2009), ‘‘Overcoming cultural barriers for innovation and knowledge sharing”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 257-270.

Williams, R. (2006), ‘‘Narratives of knowledge and intelligence beyond the tacit and explicit’’, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 81-99.

Wilson, T.D. (2002), ‘‘The nonsense of knowledge management”, Information Research, Vol. 8 No. 1, available at: http://InformationR.net/ir/8-1/paper144.html (accessed December 2011).

Yang, J. (2007), ‘‘The impact of knowledge sharing on organizational learning and effectiveness”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 83-90.


Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item
Contact us
Send email Sponsors
Sponsor: AIMS Sponsor: D&P Sponsor: UniNa CAB Get connected
Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Linkedin LinkedIn RSS RSS