Knowledge sharing processes in small and medium enterprises

The focus of this paper is to analyze knowledge sharing processes in small and medium enterprises through a knowledge management perspective in order to further the understanding what tools small and medium enterprises operating in the Polish market use to share knowledge. Modern IT tools are used by only 30% of small and medium enterprises. The most often used tool is email, as confirmed by 88% of respondents. Knowledge sharing processes are vital to knowledge management initiatives of companies that operate in a changing environment and depend on innovation to gain a competitive advantage. Previous research on knowledge management in small and medium enterprises has shown many differences compared to larger firms. SMEs tend to place more emphasis on the management of tacit knowledge than larger firms, and communication channels in SMEs are more likely to be between firms, rather than internal to the organization. Therefore in the following study, a thorough investigation of tools for knowledge sharing is presented. This research attempts to fulfill the knowledge sharing processes gap between small and medium enterprises in the Polish context where traditionally large firms are mainly investigate