Managing internal knowledge sharing: A knowledge life cycle perspective

Abstract

This thesis examines how firms can effectively share knowledge internally. The data for this study were collected from four IT-related firms located in Singapore and Malaysia regarding the nature of their knowledge and the knowledge sharing approaches they use. A theoretical framework, novel to knowledge sharing literature, incorporating the knowledge life cycle is developed to examine internal knowledge sharing. The nature of a firma??s knowledge is used to classify that knowledge into one of the three stages of the knowledge life cycle: Creation, Mobilisation and Diffusion, and Commoditisation. Knowledge sharing activities examined includes how the firms use their informal knowledge systems, information technology systems, and human resource management. The results suggest that the underlying characteristics of knowledge being shared are indeed the determinants of the knowledge sharing approaches adopted by the firms.