Institutionalization of knowledge management in the federal government: an exploration of the mechanisms

Despite knowledge management studies being widely attributed to the business field, it was Public Administration that actually pioneered scholarly work on the subject. In 1975, the Public Administration Review published a knowledge management symposium that not only coined the term “knowledge management,” but also broadly examined “knowledge administration.” Relevant to the study of knowledge management is the idea of promoting knowledge sharing within the organization. Since the 1990s, when U.S. federal agencies initiated their efforts on knowledge management, knowledge sharing has become a key management proposition to the executive leadership within the federal government. There are two main driving forces for promoting knowledge sharing in U.S. federal agencies. First, an aging workforce requires the U.S. federal government to prepare for the transfer of knowledge from one generation of employees to the next. Second, knowledge sharing could be crucial for the U.S. federal workforce to accomplish the diverse and challenging missions of the U.S. federal government. For an agency to accomplish its mission, we need a better understanding of the mechanisms that lead to knowledge sharing. Using an institutional theory perspective, this study hypothesizes that culture, incentives and technology influences knowledge sharing behavior in U.S. federal agencies. The study uses a mixed methods design in which both qualitative and quantitative research methods are applied to obtain a better understanding of the institutionalization of knowledge sharing in U.S. federal agencies and to empirically verify the theoretical framework proposed in the study. Using the survey responses of U.S. federal employees within the executive branch agencies, the study finds that while culture and incentives influence knowledge sharing behaviors within an agency, technology has a neutral effect on knowledge sharing behavior within an agency. Given the scarcity of research in Public Administration on knowledge management, this research will contribute empirical work to the literature that hopes to not only deliver theoretical fruitfulness but also provide managerial direction to public sector leaders.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Lourdes Naomi Alers-Teald