Knowledge Flows Barriers: An Exploratory Study in the IT Industry
Abstract
Although invisible to the individual, knowledge flows are found within any team or department within the organization, whether or not they are used intentionally. Thus, in an organization with an emphasis on knowledge, knowledge flows become the main mechanism for the success of the organization. However, various barriers to knowledge flows often emerge that can make these flows difficult or even stop from their natural course through the organization, often directly affecting the intellectual capital of the organization. For this reason, many organizations are unable to reach their full potential despite efforts to manage knowledge flows effectively. This study aims to outline the main factors hindering the knowledge flows within IT organizations operating in Iasi (Romania) and to analyze statistical links between these factors. For this purpose, a quantitative method was selected, using descriptive analysis, factor analysis, correlation coefficients, and a regression model. The results obtained by this study show that factors acting as barriers to knowledge flows found in the literature cannot be generalized across all organizations. Thus, the way these factors are affecting knowledge flows varies from one organization to another depending on the industry in which they operate.References
Argote, L. & Ingram, P. (2000). Knowledge transfer: A basis for competitive advantage in firms. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82(1), 150-169. https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.2000.2893
Argote, L. (2012). Organizational learning and knowledge management. In S. Kozlowski (Ed.), Oxford Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp.933–954). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bolisani, E., & Oltramari, A. (2012). Knowledge as a measurable object in business contexts: A stock-and-flow approach, Knowledge Management Research and Practice. 10(1), 275–286. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2012.13.
Bratianu, C. (2011). Barriers in innovation and knowledge management in the Romanian emergent economy, Management & Marketing. Challenges for the Knowledge Society, 6(4), 515-528.
Bratianu, C. (2015a). Developing strategic thinking in business education, Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy. 3(3), 409-429.
Bratianu, C. (2015b). Managementul cunoștințelor; Concepte fundamentale [Knowledge management; fundamental concepts], Bucharest, RO: Editura Universitara
Bratianu, C., & Bejinaru, R. (2019). The theory of knowledge fields: A thermodynamics approach. Systems. 7(20), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems7020020
Bratianu, C., & Bejinaru, R. (2020). Knowledge dynamics: A thermodynamics approach, The International Journal of Cybernetics, Systems and Management Sciences. 49(1), 6-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-02-2019-0122
Claver‐Cortés, E., Zaragoza‐Sáez, P., & Pertusa‐Ortega, E. (2007). Organizational structure features supporting knowledge management processes. Journal of Knowledge Management, 11(4), 45-57. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270710762701
Cohen, W.M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 128-152.
Disterer, G. (2002). Management of project knowledge and experiences. Journal of Knowledge Management, 6 (5), 512-520. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270210450450
Gupta, A.K., & Govindarajan, V. (2000). Knowledge flows within multinational corporations. Strategic Management Journal, 21(1), 473-496. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200004)21:4<473::AID-SMJ84>3.0.CO;2-I
Hair, J., Black, W., Babin, B., Anderson, R., & Tatham, R. (2006). Multivariate Data Analysis (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Hutcheson, G., & Sofroniou, N. (1999). The Multivariate Social Scientist: Introductory Statistics Using Generalized Linear Models. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication
Kane, A.A., Argote, L., & Levine, J. M. (2005). Knowledge transfer between groups via personnel rotation: Effects of social identity and knowledge quality. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 96, 56–71.
Lin, C., Wu, J.C., & Yen, D.C. (2012). Exploring barriers to knowledge flow at different knowledge management maturity stages, Information and Management, 49(1), 10-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2011.11.001
McLaughlin, S., Paton, R.A., & Macbeth, D.K. (2008). Barrier impact on organizational learning within complex organizations, Journal of Knowledge Management, 12(2), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270810859550
Nissen, M.E. (2002). An extended model of knowledge-flow dynamics. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 8(18), 251-266. https://doi.org/ 10.17705/1CAIS.00818
Nissen, M.E. (2006). Harnessing Knowledge Dynamics: Principled Organizational Knowing & Learning. Royal Oaks, CA: IGI Global.
Nissen, M.E., & Bordetsky, A. (2011). Leveraging mobile network technologies to accelerate tacit knowledge flows across organisations and distances. Technology and Knowledge Flow: The Power of Networks, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-84334-646-3.50001-0
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (4th ed.). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin
Pintilescu, C. (2007). Analiză statistică multivariată [Multivariate statistical analysis]. Iasi, IS: Editura Universitatii ‘Alexandru Ioan Cuza’
Popa, M., (2010). Statistici multivariate aplicate în psihologie [Multivariate statistics applied in psychology]. Iasi, RO: Editura Polirom
Riege, A. (2005). Three‐dozen knowledge‐sharing barriers managers must consider, Journal of Knowledge Management, 9(3), 18-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270510602746
Schulz, M. (2001). The uncertain relevance of newness: Organizational learning and knowledge flows. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 661-681. https://doi.org/10.2307/3069409
Szulanski, G., & Lee, S. (2018). Knowledge transfer barriers, methods, and timing of methods. In The Oxford Handbook of Group and Organizational Learning (pp.364-386). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190263362.013.41
Zhang, J. & Bookhamer, P. (2016). Knowledge management in a global context. Information Resources Management Journal, 29(1), 57-74. https://doi.org/10.4018/IRMJ.2016010104
Zhuge, H., (2002). A knowledge flow model for peer-to-peer team knowledge sharing and management. Expert Systems with Applications, 23(1), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0957-4174(02)00024-6
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) with the condition to attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor. They may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.