title: Encouraging knowledge sharing behaviours in a Nigerian SME. An action research inquiry.
Creators: name: Ehimuan, Oziegbe
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: This thesis is about improving knowledge sharing in a Nigerian small-medium sized company that currently sees knowledge not being shared enough by key members of the organization and therefore, where key knowledge does not flow to those individuals that need it to effectively achieve their daily tasks. Using action research, the aim of this thesis is to identify the key factors that cause knowledge to be hoarded among the workforce in the company and then by addressing these factors, take action to improve knowledge sharing between organisational members. I have taken a social constructivism philosophical position to gain a better understanding of the organizational problem through collaborative learning with the members of the organization who impact and are impacted by the organizational problem of knowledge sharing. The first stage of the research consisted of preliminary steps, in which the diagnosis of the problem commenced with an extensive literature review to gain an understanding of the current state of research on the factors that impact knowledge sharing in organizations, followed by an exploration of the problem with organizational members to gain a better understanding of the problem in context of the organization. In the second action research cycle, the research employed a qualitative research method in which first hand data was collected through the use of face-to-face interviews with 13 members drawn from various departments within the organization. The collection of data through the course of these action research cycles was followed by a cycle of planning, taking action and reflection. The research revealed that the current nature of power, culture and organizational process in the organization, all have a significant impact on how, why and when members of the organization choose not to share their knowledge. Most significantly, the research also revealed that there exists a link between these factors of power, culture and organizational process in the form of an interrelationship that creates a complex web of impact on one another and ultimately combining to impact knowledge sharing within the organization. This knowledge culminated in the development of a knowledge sharing model of interconnectivity. These findings were then used in group meetings, where a collaborative effort was made together with members of the organization, to intervene and take action to bring about a resolution to the problem of poor knowledge sharing. The results of this collaborative effort, narrowed the scope of an initial first step intervention to the area of communication and reporting. Intervention meant that I made changes to my communication and reporting style and in my role as owner-manager, I withdrew from all direct official communications with organizational members not directly subordinate to me in the organizational hierarchy, instead, communicating solely to and through their respective managers. The results of this, were initially, an increased level of communication and collaboration between organizational members, who with my withdrawal, were forced to communicate more and share more knowledge between each other to resolve organizational issues while carrying out their daily tasks. However, even after intervening, some key knowledge was still being held back by those who possessed it and meant that knowledge sharing was still not sufficient enough to say that the problem of a lack of knowledge sharing within the organization had been resolved. The results of this intervention show that it takes time to unlearn behaviours that see individuals willingly volunteer to share knowledge in my organization. Therefore, to intervene further and see knowledge sharing being done in the short term, a knowledge broker officer (KCO) will be introduced to the organization, with the task of improving the interface between knowledge generators and knowledge users by acting as a physical link between them, i.e., physically taking knowledge from the knowledge holder to the knowledge seeker.