The relationship between knowledge sharing and organizational culture : Theoretical framework

Although knowledge sharing and organisational culture are two different concepts, there is a significant relationship between them. Factors such as communication and trust between staff, reward systems, information systems and organisational structures within organisational cultures have been identified as having an influence on the success or the failure of the knowledge sharing process in the business organisations. In many organisations, in the context of ICT firms, knowledge sharing has been identified as a significant factor that provides benefits such as improving organisational performance, promoting competitive advantage, enhancing organisational learning and innovation and in some cases; as a survival issue. This paper discusses the current understanding and perspectives of organisational culture and knowledge sharing with particular reference to ICT companies. The paper further discusses the possible elements of organisational culture which have been shown to influence the process of knowledge sharing. A comprehensive literature review and synthesis of studies and articles have been consulted to extract the major themes used to develop an initial theoretical framework that integrates organisational culture and knowledge sharing in ICT business organizations. Nevertheless, the researchers would not claim that the suggested theoretical framework will be applicable unless it has been evaluated and compared with the practice-based framework which will be generated once the research outcomes are articulated bear in mind that the researchers aim in their research to “Explore the influences of organizational culture on knowledge sharing processes in ICT firms in Libya”