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

Sharing and Transferring Knowledge – how to increase
efficiency <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>t techniques for KS
Albena Antonova 1 and Aniko Csepregi 2
1 S<strong>of</strong>ia University, S<strong>of</strong>ia, Bulgaria
2 University <strong>of</strong> Pannonia, Veszprem, Hungary
a_antonova@fmi.uni-s<strong>of</strong>ia.bg
csepregia@gtk.uni-pannon.hu
Abstract: Knowledge sharing (KS) is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> main concerns for organizational knowledge management.
Knowledge sharing contributes for better visibility <strong>of</strong> knowledge flows, improves access to knowledge assets, and
leads to increased organizational efficiency. However, <strong>the</strong> recent analysis <strong>of</strong> Antonova et al. (2011) has
demonstrated that in practice organizations predominantly pay attention on <strong>the</strong> processes <strong>of</strong> knowledge
internalization and neglect <strong>the</strong> processes <strong>of</strong> externalizing knowledge. This means that organizations use
motivational practices, s<strong>of</strong>t techniques and IT tools that stimulate employees to use (learn, search for information
and experts etc.) but not to share knowledge (to externalize its own knowledge in IS or to share it appropriately
for fur<strong>the</strong>r use). The application <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> extended model <strong>of</strong> KS/KT (Antonova et al., 2011) discovered that coherent
organizational vision is lacking and all s<strong>of</strong>t and IT-enabled KS methods should address both <strong>the</strong> processes <strong>of</strong> KS
and KT combining externalization and internalization <strong>of</strong> knowledge. The present paper aims to investigate fur<strong>the</strong>r
how knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer can be improved in organizational context. Based on <strong>the</strong> KS/KT
model, <strong>the</strong> main problems for KS and KT in practice have been identified. Since little attention has been paid on
externalizing knowledge, additional efforts and focused incentives for its improvement in organizations will be
proposed. Therefore, by applying <strong>the</strong> model <strong>of</strong> KS/KT different knowledge flows in organizations will be analyzed
in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most popular s<strong>of</strong>t techniques for KS (as groupwork, trainings, informal meetings, and o<strong>the</strong>rs).
Besides empirical data, different models for s<strong>of</strong>t techniques enhanced with ICT will be discussed. Finally <strong>the</strong>
conclusions will provide recommendations and practical considerations for implementation <strong>of</strong> KS/KT model in
organizations.
Keywords: knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer, s<strong>of</strong>t techniques, KS/KT model, KS in organizations
1. Introduction
Knowledge sharing is indispensable for organizations and for individuals. The act <strong>of</strong> sharing
knowledge is very important since an individual’s knowledge will not have much impact on <strong>the</strong>
organization unless it is made available to o<strong>the</strong>r individuals (Law, 2007). Therefore, knowledge has
value when it is used, when it is shared and when it contributes to organizational performance.
There are numbers <strong>of</strong> reasons why knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer are vital for
organizations. Murray et al. (2007) identified four basic benefits <strong>of</strong> KT: shared knowledge resources
lead to cost advantages, knowledge transfer allows organizations to respond faster to business
challenges, it enables individuals to obtain more complete information and to make better decisions,
and finally, organizations create new knowledge by combining individually held knowledge. However,
<strong>the</strong> sharing <strong>of</strong> knowledge is not an automated process. Individuals are in <strong>the</strong> core <strong>of</strong> all knowledge
sharing mechanisms (Sirkemaa, 2008). Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore Sirkemaa (2008) stated that in knowledge
sharing both <strong>the</strong> information that is shared and <strong>the</strong> characteristics <strong>of</strong> those who share information are
relevant. Szulanski (1996) discovered that knowledge sharing is inhibited by three major factors: lack
<strong>of</strong> absorptive capacity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> recipient, casual ambiguity concerning <strong>the</strong> knowledge itself, and an
arduous relationship between <strong>the</strong> sender and <strong>the</strong> receiver. Szulanski (1996) also revealed that
motivational factors play only a minor role in connection with <strong>the</strong> transferability <strong>of</strong> knowledge.
The recent study <strong>of</strong> Antonova et al. (2011) discovered that organizations and managers emphasize
incentives, knowledge sharing practices and methods that enhance and propagate knowledge
internalization. This means that organizational culture and practices stimulate individuals to internalize
knowledge (to learn, to explore documents, to absorb o<strong>the</strong>r´s knowledge) and not to externalize
knowledge (to share, to explain, to contribute to organizational knowledge). These practices are
reported as important barriers for knowledge sharing, limiting <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> sophisticated information
systems and organizational knowledge management instruments.
The present research aims to focus on s<strong>of</strong>t techniques for knowledge sharing. On <strong>the</strong> one hand, s<strong>of</strong>t
techniques and methods are <strong>of</strong>ten neglected in comparison to technology-enabled methods. On <strong>the</strong>
o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong>re still lack understanding what factors should be considered when evaluating s<strong>of</strong>t KS
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