Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Knowledge Sharing Practices, Managerial Tacit
Knowledge, and Individual Performance: Their
Interrelationships and <strong>the</strong> Moderating Role <strong>of</strong> Employee
Personality
Halimah Abdul Manaf 1 , Steven Armstrong 1 and Alan Lawton 2
1 Business School, The University <strong>of</strong> Hull, UK
2 School <strong>of</strong> Business and Economics, Monash University Gippsland, Australia
H.Abdul-Manaf@2008.hull.ac.uk
S.J.Armstrong@hull.ac.uk
alan.lawton@monash.edu
Abstract: Tacit knowledge is believed to be a significant factor distinguishing successful managers from o<strong>the</strong>rs.
The ability <strong>of</strong> an organisation to effectively share managerial tacit knowledge is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> key sources <strong>of</strong>
competitive advantage for many <strong>of</strong> today’s organisations. Effective knowledge transfer not only provides access
to rich and timely information but can also lead to <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> knowledge-sharing routines that result in
new knowledge and improved organisational learning – a pre-requisite for survival in today’s complex and
turbulent environment. This study investigates <strong>the</strong> relationship between knowledge sharing practices, managerial
tacit knowledge, and individual performance in <strong>the</strong> Malaysian public sector. Moderation effects <strong>of</strong> employee
personality on <strong>the</strong>se variables were also examined. Instruments used in <strong>the</strong> study, involving 310 Malaysian public
sector employees, included Sternberg et al.’s (2000) Tacit Knowledge Inventory for Managers (TKIM), John et al.
’s (2008) Big Five Inventory (BFI) <strong>of</strong> personality, Bryant’s (2005) peer mentoring instrument, and Boh’s (2007)
instrument for measuring <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> knowledge sharing mechanisms. Findings suggest that individual
performance is influenced by both <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> knowledge sharing practices, and levels <strong>of</strong> accumulated
managerial tacit knowledge. Both <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se relationships were moderated to some degree by employee
personality traits.
Keywords: Knowledge sharing practices, tacit knowledge, personality traits, individual performance
1. Introduction
The ability <strong>of</strong> an organisation to create and share knowledge is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> key sources <strong>of</strong> competitive
advantage for today’s organisations. It has been argued that building networks and forming alliances
(both internal and external) have <strong>the</strong> potential for enhancing an organisation’s core competencies and
can significantly improve organisational performance (Dyer & Singh 1998). Creating and organising
knowledge, however, remains a major challenge to organisations. New knowledge is created through
interactions between explicit and tacit knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995). Drawing on Polanyi’s
(1966) distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge, it is clear that <strong>the</strong> former can be transferred
with relative ease, especially using advances in information technology. Sharing tacit knowledge on
<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, requires a relationship that involves dense, long-term social interactions. Despite its
strategic importance in developing distinctive competitive advantage, significant difficulties are known
to be associated with this type <strong>of</strong> knowledge transfer (Brown & Duguid 2001). According to Nonaka
& Konno (1998) <strong>the</strong> most effective way <strong>of</strong> transferring tacit knowledge is through interaction
processes: interacting with <strong>the</strong> task and <strong>the</strong>refore learning by doing (situated learning); or interacting
with a community and <strong>the</strong>refore learning from people (communities <strong>of</strong> practice). This article is
concerned with <strong>the</strong> latter: <strong>the</strong> exchange <strong>of</strong> knowledge through interaction among individuals in
specific relation to public sector organisations.
2. Context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> study
In <strong>the</strong> public sector, knowledge sharing plays an important role in preventing knowledge loss (Cong &
Pandya 2003). To enhance effectiveness in <strong>the</strong> public sector, government agencies need to find new
ways <strong>of</strong> developing <strong>the</strong>ir knowledge sharing practices. Governments have responded to this agenda
in different ways. The focus <strong>of</strong> our study is Malaysia whose government realized that increased levels
<strong>of</strong> performance, effectiveness and efficiency can be supported by knowledge management practices
(Raja Kasim 2008). The Malaysian government’s efforts to improve public sector performance and
efficiency began with <strong>the</strong> introduction <strong>of</strong> ‘Vision 2020’, published in <strong>the</strong> 9th Malaysia Plan which
became part <strong>of</strong> a national agenda. This Malaysia plan focuses on frontline government agencies such
as local authorities.
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