- Email: [email protected]
Knowledge Sharing in Iranian Academic Institutions: Meta Analysis Approach
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
The 2nd International Conference on Integrated Information
Knowledge Sharing in Iranian academic institutions: Meta analysis approach Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmatia*, Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousarib ab
MA of Library and information science, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch, Tonekabon, Iran
Abstract Knowledge sharing (KS) is a cooperative process which includes the distribution of the information, ideas and skills in the organizations. There are some factors that if provided, will facilitate the path for the knowledge sharing. So, this research intends to analyze the factors that affect the situation of knowledge sharing amongst the academic institutions that are considered as the statistical population. The Methodology is based on the Meta analysis approach. The findings of this research showed that KS and the factors affecting on it has no acceptable status among Iranian academic institutions and that KS exists informally among the staffs. © © 2012 2013 The The Authors. Authors. Published Published by by Elsevier Elsevier Ltd. Ltd. Selection peer-review under responsibility of The International Conference Integrated Information. Selection and/or and peer-review under responsibility of The 2nd2nd International Conference on on Integrated Information Keywords: Knowledge sharing (KS); Factors influencing knowledge sharing (KS); Iranian academic institutions
1. Introduction Nowadays, due to the rapid changing of the present organizations and communities, which is called the wisdom and knowledge-based era, knowledge is the most important organizational resource and wealth. Although some people believe that knowledge is the power, it seems that knowledge has no power per se, and what gives power to the people, is that part of their knowledge that they share with others [19]. Knowledge-sharing activities will provide the members of any group with opportunities to exchange ideas and take part in cooperative activities, so that the effectiveness of members' performance in contributing to the success of their organization will be maximized. Today there is a growing demand for sharing quality resources and expertise in academic institutions. Individual members of academic institutions place a higher priority on individual scholarly achievement than on sharing common visions toward organizational goals and objectives. As a result, there is a relatively weak willingness to share knowledge for achieving common goals in academia
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 912 22 32 543 E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of The 2nd International Conference on Integrated Information doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.02.065
384
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
compared to in profit-oriented organizations. Due to these unique characteristics of exclusiveness and individualism, KS and Knowledge Management (KM) in academic organizations are very important [16]. Because of the importance of KS, this study intends to assess KS status in Iranian academic organizations and to present some solutions for the improvement of it at the end. 1.2. KS and factors influencing it: The first step in understanding how to manage the knowledge sharing is the factors influencing it [12]. It has been pointed to the different categories of these factors in the literature. One of these common categories is the division to encouraging and discouraging factors. Another common category is the division to human or individual factors, organizational factors and information technology factors [13]. Factors influencing KS are as follows: Information technology factors: Information technology and communication have an important supportive role regarding the KS and facilitating it. Although information technology is among the facilitating factors, there are some barriers that cause incompatibility between persons and the organization. Some of these barriers are as follows. Lack of unity among the IT systems and processes is a barrier to performing the operations, lack of technical support (internal and external), unmediated support of IT systems, lack of suitable foundations for IT and lack of opportunities to manage and use them and lack of compatibility with the persons' needs; lack of the staffs' skills in using the IT and lack of instructional programs to familiarize the staffs with the systems and new procedures of the IT and misusing them. Human factors: People who are trying in the field of presenting and sharing the knowledge are the greatest wealth of the organization and KS will be meaningless without them. The most important human factors are" motivation, positive attitude toward KS, trust, staffs' skills or their capabilities & persons' commitment to the KS. Organizational factors: There is no KS unless there will be a sharing atmosphere and sharing culture in an organization. The most important organizational factors regarding KS are: communications and social relationships, team or group work, organizational structure, organizational culture, group or organizational identity, manager's support and his long term commitment regarding the KS activities, the existence of the motivational systems and job protection in the organization. 1.3. Research Methodology First, according to the content analysis, knowledge sharing and its factors were extracted from the researches done in Iranian academic institutions and these factors have been investigated in them. Then based on the Meta analysis method, the results will be analyzed. The history of investigating the KS in Iranian academic institutions goes back to 2008. Seven researches related to this area were identified and the frequency and frequency percentage of each of factors influencing the KS was obtained from dividing to seven. 1.4. Data Analysis Table 1. Result of researches Factors influencing Research conclusions knowledge sharing desired status of human factors human factors correlation with KS Lack of trust Human Factors Existence of trust Correlation between trust and KS Hoarding the knowledge Positive attitude toward KS in the organization
Researchers [28 ][7 ] [10 ][23 ] [23 ][25 ][7 ] [18] [2 ] [2 ][10 ][25 ] [25 ][7 ] [2 ][25 ][7 ]
Frequency (Percentage) 2(28) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 3(42)
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
Organizational Factors
Information Technology Factors Knowledge Sharing (KS)
Knowing the importance of KS Lack of enough time Lack of skill and capability in the staffs Correlation of organizational factors with KS Correlation of organizational structure with KS Lack of suitable organization structure Lack of motivational systems Correlation of social relationships with KS Good social relationships Correlation of team work with KS Lack of group work for KS Correlation of organizational culture with KS Correlation of IT factors with KS Desired status of IT factors Lack of using IT and instruments because of lack of instruction to familiarize the students with new information technologies Undesired status of IT factors Face-to-face communication, the most practical instrument of KS Undesired status of KS
[25 ][7 ] [18] [23 ] [23 ][7 ] [10 ][23 ] [2 ][25 ] [2 ][25 ][7 ] [23 ][7 ] [2 ][25 ] [18] [2 ][25 ][7 ] [2 ][10 ] [2 ] [2 ][10 ] [2 ][10 ][23 ] [7 ]
2(28) 2(28) 2(28) 2(28) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 2(28) 4(57) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 3(42) 1(14
[23 ]
1(14)
[23 ][28 ] [2 ][7 ] In all researches except [7]
2(28) 2(28) 6(85)
385
Table 1, shows that results of researches according to factors influencing knowledge sharing. The methodology of all these researches is descriptive and their instrument is the questionnaire. Geographical distribution of these researches except one which is located in Mashhad is in Tehran city. All these researches except 3 of them have been done in the universities. Two researches have been done in a library and the other one is done in agricultural academic organization. The table's data regarding the factors influencing the KS show that in these researches from among the human factors, trust, hoarding the knowledge, attitude toward KS, knowing the importance of the KS, required time for the KS, staffs' skills and capabilities for the KS have been investigated. The findings regarding the individual factors suggest that in two researches the human factors have good conditions and in two other researches they have correlation with KS and have an effect on it. From these factors, trust has a meaningful correlation with KS and influences it in three researches. In most of the researches there is a lack of trust in the organization. Owing the knowledge is quite obvious in the two researches, and knowing the importance of the KS exists in the two researches and there is a positive attitude toward KS in the three researches. The lack of the necessary time for KS and the staffs' skill for sharing their knowledge are the barriers to KS in the two researches. The correlation between the organizational factors and KS is observable in the two researches. From among the organizational factors, there is a correlation between organizational structure, social relationships, team work and organizational culture with the KS. In these researches, unsuitable organizational structure and lack of motivational systems can be seen. Although there is a correlation between team work and KS and it affects the KS, but there is no team work in one research. Instead, there are good social relationships in four researches. The third factor influencing the KS is the information technology. There is a correlation between IT and KS in three researches. In the two researches IT has not a suitable status and only in one research it has a good status. Face-to-face communication as a traditional instrument is the most practical link channel for the KS. In one research, the research sample because of unfamiliarity with IT and lack of instruction, gains nothing from the IT. In sum, it can be said that except in one research, KS has no acceptable status in the researches. 1.5. Conclusions & Suggestions The results of the study showed that in Iranian academic institutions, the influencing factors on Ks are not in good condition. Among the human factors, lack of trust, lack of enough time for KS, lack of staffs' skill and capability for KS and hoarding the KS are the barriers for KS. Positive attitude toward the KS and knowing its importance encourages the KS in Iranian university institutions. Also among the organizational factors, the
386
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
unsuitable organizational structure is a barrier for KS. On the other hand, the organizational culture does not support the KS and because of this reason it is not considered for the staffs of the motivational systems. Although the social relationships among the staffs is good and encouraging for the KS, but lack of team work is a barrier for KS in Iranian academic institutions. Regarding the IT factors, they have correlation with KS too, but because of different reasons like little familiarity with these technologies, lack of instruction for using them or reluctance to use them have caused their unacceptable status and so the face-to-face communication has become the dominant link channel. In sum, there is no acceptable and formal KS among the Iranian academic institutions and KS is performed informally among their staffs. Since there is a positive attitude toward KS and knowledge of its importance in the organizations, the authorities should provide the opportunities that increase the exchanges among the staffs and decrease the fear of losing the unique value of knowledge in people so that there would be no lack of trust and hoarding the knowledge among them as a barrier for KS. The role of organizations' managers in encouraging the staffs to take an active part in the process of establishing, transferring and KS is the most important factor in setting a knowledge-based culture in the organization. Also if the manager encourages the staffs and asks them to present new solutions and take time for KS and consider it beside the organization's activities, it can be a helpful factor in setting the culture of KS among them. The manager's ignorance to this case and neglecting the process of exchanging the knowledge among the members, cannot motivate the staffs and produce a good atmosphere for KS. On the other hand, due to the positive relation that exists among the structure and the experts' attitude toward KS, increasing the flexibility in decision makings and decreasing the focus of the power in doing the affairs can have a significant role in motivating people toward KS. It can be concluded that by strengthening the social relationships among the staffs, they will have more positive attitude toward KS. The organization has to provide the staff with suitable instruments and communication channels in order to improve the process of KS. There should be a teaching for using these instruments and communication channels and also an encouragement to use them, because using the traditional communication methods like face-to-face, do not have the capability to be changed into the concrete knowledge. All in all it can be said that each organization should look forward to the future regarding the KS and consider it as a valuable competition in achieving the benefits. References [1] Al-Alawi, A. I., Al-Marzooqi, N. Y. & Mohammed, Y. F. (2007). Organizational culture and KS: critical success factors. Journal of KM, 11(2), 22-42. [2] Alizadeh, N. (2009). Investigating the attitude of the members of the faculty about KS in educational institutions: a case study of agriculture faculties in Tehran and Tarbiat Modarres universities (Mastre’s Thesis). Tarbiat Modarres university [3] Cheng M. Y., Ho J. S. Y., & Lau, P. M. (June 2009). KS in Academic Institutions: a Study of Multimedia University Malaysia. Electronic Journal of KM, 7 (3), 313–324. [4] Chennamaneni, A. (2006). Determinations of KS behaviors: Developing and testing an integrated theoretical model (Doctoral dissertation). The University of Texas at Arlington [5] Chiu, S. (2006). The effects of relation models on KS among members in the group: An empirical study of IS project team (Master’s thesis). National Sun Yat-Sen University. [6] Connelly, C. E. & Kelloway, E. K. (2003). Predicators of employees’ perceptions of KS cultures. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(5), 294-301. [7] Dokhtesmati, M. (2012). Investigating the usage of KS in developing university libraries website of Tehran city and World the role of librarians on it:presenting proposed model. (Master’s Thesis). Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch [8] Eghbu, C. O. & Robinson, H. S. (2005). Construction as a knowledge based industry. KM in construction (pp. 42-49). In Anumba, C. J., Egbu, C. & Carrillo, P. M. (Eds), Oxford: Blackwell Publishing [9] Hamid, S., & Nayan, J. M. (2005). Preliminary study of KM in a library: a case study of the National Library of Malaysia. International Conference on Libraries. Penang, Malaysia. [10] Hossein Gholizadeh, R. and Mirkamali, M. (2010). The key factors influencing KS: a case study of faculty of psychology and training sciences of Firdausi University. Iran's high education committee's periodical , 3(1), 61-78 [11] Ismail, M. B. & Yusof, M. Z. (2010). The Impact of Individual Factors on KS Quality. Journal of Organizational KM. 2010 (2010). 1-12 [12] Jacobson, C. M. (2008). KS between individuals. In Jennex, M. E. (Ed), KM: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications (pp. 16331642). Hershey: Information Science Reference
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
387
[13] Jain, K. K., Sandhu, M. S. & Sidhu, G. K. (2007). KS among Academic Staff: A Case Study of Business Schools in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Journal of the Advancement of Science and Arts. 2(Science and Technology), 23-29. [14] Jewels, T. (2006). Motivator and inhibitors to KS in IT project teams (Doctoral dissertation). Queensland University of Technology, School of Information Systems [15] Keshavarzi, A. (2007). Barriers and facilitators of KS in the organizations. KM first national conference, Tehran, Iran. [16] Kim, S. & Ju, B. (2008). An analysis of faculty perceptions: Attitudes toward KS and collaboration in an academic institution. Library and Information Science Research, 30, 282–290. [17] King, W. R. (2008). Knowledge shkaring. In Jennex, M. E. (Ed), KM: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications (pp. 73-79). Hershey: Information Science Reference. [18] Khatamianfar, P. (2007). An investigation of the status and grounds of knowledge sharing in the organization of Astan Qods Razavi libraries in accordance with "Totoka and Take oochi" pattern. Bookholding and information sharing periodical, 10 (4), 177-212 [19] Liao, S., Chang, J., Cheng, S. & Kuo, C. (2004). Employee relationship and KS: a case study of a Taiwanese finance and securities firm. KM Research & Practice, 2, 24-34 [20] Lindsey, K. L. (2008). KS barriers. In Jennex, M. E. (Ed), KM: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications (pp. 1491-1499). Hershey: Information Science Reference [21] Liu, S. M. (2009). What Shapes Employees ‘decision to share knowledge in real work practices: An exploration of KS processes and factors shaping workers’ KS when performing a task (Doctoral dissertation). University of Washington [22] Liu, K. L., Chang, C. C., & Hu, I. L. (2010). Exploring the effects of task characteristics on KS in libraries. Library Review, 59(6), 455468. [23] Mardi Arbat Olia, Gh. (2010). Barriers of KS among BA students of Payam Noor University of Tehran center. (Mastre’s Thesis). Faculty of economic and social science, Payam Noor university, Tehran [24] Mirghafouri, H., Sadeghi Araee, Z., and Saberi, H. (2008). An investigation and analysis of KS barriers in governmental organizations: a case study of Yazd province' governmental organization. The sixth international management conference, Tehran, Iran. [25] Pezeshkirad, Gh., Alizadeh, N., Zamani Miandashti, N. (2010). The investigation of factors influencing the attitudes of the experts of the propagation and agricultural education of the ministry of agricultural Jihad towards KS in the organization. Magazine of the Iran's economic and agricultural development researches. 41 (2), 41-49 [26] Renzl, B. (2008). Trust in management and KS: The mediating effects of fear and knowledge documentation. Omega: The International Journal of KM Science, 36, 206 – 220 [27] Sandhu, M. S., Jain, K. K. & bte Ahmad, I. U. K. (2011). KS among public sector employees: evidence from Malaysia. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 24(3), 206 - 226 [28] Sohrabi Yourtchi, B., Raeesi Vanani, A., and Shafiaa, S. (2010). Presenting a practical pattern for assessing the level of capability of KS: investigating the State universities of Tehran. IT and Sciences periodical, 26 (1), 5-28. [29] Widen-Wulf, G. (2007). Challenges of KS in practice: A Social Approach. Oxford: Chandos [30] Willem, A. & Buelens, A. (2009). KS in inter-unit cooperative episodes: The impact of organizational structure dimensions. International Journal of Information Management, 29, 151-160 [31] Zadjabbari, B. (2010). The effect of KS on electronic banking: the case study of Mellat Bank (Mastre’s Thesis). Shahid Beheshti University
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
The 2nd International Conference on Integrated Information
Knowledge Sharing in Iranian academic institutions: Meta analysis approach Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmatia*, Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousarib ab
MA of Library and information science, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch, Tonekabon, Iran
Abstract Knowledge sharing (KS) is a cooperative process which includes the distribution of the information, ideas and skills in the organizations. There are some factors that if provided, will facilitate the path for the knowledge sharing. So, this research intends to analyze the factors that affect the situation of knowledge sharing amongst the academic institutions that are considered as the statistical population. The Methodology is based on the Meta analysis approach. The findings of this research showed that KS and the factors affecting on it has no acceptable status among Iranian academic institutions and that KS exists informally among the staffs. © © 2012 2013 The The Authors. Authors. Published Published by by Elsevier Elsevier Ltd. Ltd. Selection peer-review under responsibility of The International Conference Integrated Information. Selection and/or and peer-review under responsibility of The 2nd2nd International Conference on on Integrated Information Keywords: Knowledge sharing (KS); Factors influencing knowledge sharing (KS); Iranian academic institutions
1. Introduction Nowadays, due to the rapid changing of the present organizations and communities, which is called the wisdom and knowledge-based era, knowledge is the most important organizational resource and wealth. Although some people believe that knowledge is the power, it seems that knowledge has no power per se, and what gives power to the people, is that part of their knowledge that they share with others [19]. Knowledge-sharing activities will provide the members of any group with opportunities to exchange ideas and take part in cooperative activities, so that the effectiveness of members' performance in contributing to the success of their organization will be maximized. Today there is a growing demand for sharing quality resources and expertise in academic institutions. Individual members of academic institutions place a higher priority on individual scholarly achievement than on sharing common visions toward organizational goals and objectives. As a result, there is a relatively weak willingness to share knowledge for achieving common goals in academia
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 912 22 32 543 E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of The 2nd International Conference on Integrated Information doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.02.065
384
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
compared to in profit-oriented organizations. Due to these unique characteristics of exclusiveness and individualism, KS and Knowledge Management (KM) in academic organizations are very important [16]. Because of the importance of KS, this study intends to assess KS status in Iranian academic organizations and to present some solutions for the improvement of it at the end. 1.2. KS and factors influencing it: The first step in understanding how to manage the knowledge sharing is the factors influencing it [12]. It has been pointed to the different categories of these factors in the literature. One of these common categories is the division to encouraging and discouraging factors. Another common category is the division to human or individual factors, organizational factors and information technology factors [13]. Factors influencing KS are as follows: Information technology factors: Information technology and communication have an important supportive role regarding the KS and facilitating it. Although information technology is among the facilitating factors, there are some barriers that cause incompatibility between persons and the organization. Some of these barriers are as follows. Lack of unity among the IT systems and processes is a barrier to performing the operations, lack of technical support (internal and external), unmediated support of IT systems, lack of suitable foundations for IT and lack of opportunities to manage and use them and lack of compatibility with the persons' needs; lack of the staffs' skills in using the IT and lack of instructional programs to familiarize the staffs with the systems and new procedures of the IT and misusing them. Human factors: People who are trying in the field of presenting and sharing the knowledge are the greatest wealth of the organization and KS will be meaningless without them. The most important human factors are" motivation, positive attitude toward KS, trust, staffs' skills or their capabilities & persons' commitment to the KS. Organizational factors: There is no KS unless there will be a sharing atmosphere and sharing culture in an organization. The most important organizational factors regarding KS are: communications and social relationships, team or group work, organizational structure, organizational culture, group or organizational identity, manager's support and his long term commitment regarding the KS activities, the existence of the motivational systems and job protection in the organization. 1.3. Research Methodology First, according to the content analysis, knowledge sharing and its factors were extracted from the researches done in Iranian academic institutions and these factors have been investigated in them. Then based on the Meta analysis method, the results will be analyzed. The history of investigating the KS in Iranian academic institutions goes back to 2008. Seven researches related to this area were identified and the frequency and frequency percentage of each of factors influencing the KS was obtained from dividing to seven. 1.4. Data Analysis Table 1. Result of researches Factors influencing Research conclusions knowledge sharing desired status of human factors human factors correlation with KS Lack of trust Human Factors Existence of trust Correlation between trust and KS Hoarding the knowledge Positive attitude toward KS in the organization
Researchers [28 ][7 ] [10 ][23 ] [23 ][25 ][7 ] [18] [2 ] [2 ][10 ][25 ] [25 ][7 ] [2 ][25 ][7 ]
Frequency (Percentage) 2(28) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 3(42)
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
Organizational Factors
Information Technology Factors Knowledge Sharing (KS)
Knowing the importance of KS Lack of enough time Lack of skill and capability in the staffs Correlation of organizational factors with KS Correlation of organizational structure with KS Lack of suitable organization structure Lack of motivational systems Correlation of social relationships with KS Good social relationships Correlation of team work with KS Lack of group work for KS Correlation of organizational culture with KS Correlation of IT factors with KS Desired status of IT factors Lack of using IT and instruments because of lack of instruction to familiarize the students with new information technologies Undesired status of IT factors Face-to-face communication, the most practical instrument of KS Undesired status of KS
[25 ][7 ] [18] [23 ] [23 ][7 ] [10 ][23 ] [2 ][25 ] [2 ][25 ][7 ] [23 ][7 ] [2 ][25 ] [18] [2 ][25 ][7 ] [2 ][10 ] [2 ] [2 ][10 ] [2 ][10 ][23 ] [7 ]
2(28) 2(28) 2(28) 2(28) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 2(28) 4(57) 2(28) 3(42) 2(28) 3(42) 1(14
[23 ]
1(14)
[23 ][28 ] [2 ][7 ] In all researches except [7]
2(28) 2(28) 6(85)
385
Table 1, shows that results of researches according to factors influencing knowledge sharing. The methodology of all these researches is descriptive and their instrument is the questionnaire. Geographical distribution of these researches except one which is located in Mashhad is in Tehran city. All these researches except 3 of them have been done in the universities. Two researches have been done in a library and the other one is done in agricultural academic organization. The table's data regarding the factors influencing the KS show that in these researches from among the human factors, trust, hoarding the knowledge, attitude toward KS, knowing the importance of the KS, required time for the KS, staffs' skills and capabilities for the KS have been investigated. The findings regarding the individual factors suggest that in two researches the human factors have good conditions and in two other researches they have correlation with KS and have an effect on it. From these factors, trust has a meaningful correlation with KS and influences it in three researches. In most of the researches there is a lack of trust in the organization. Owing the knowledge is quite obvious in the two researches, and knowing the importance of the KS exists in the two researches and there is a positive attitude toward KS in the three researches. The lack of the necessary time for KS and the staffs' skill for sharing their knowledge are the barriers to KS in the two researches. The correlation between the organizational factors and KS is observable in the two researches. From among the organizational factors, there is a correlation between organizational structure, social relationships, team work and organizational culture with the KS. In these researches, unsuitable organizational structure and lack of motivational systems can be seen. Although there is a correlation between team work and KS and it affects the KS, but there is no team work in one research. Instead, there are good social relationships in four researches. The third factor influencing the KS is the information technology. There is a correlation between IT and KS in three researches. In the two researches IT has not a suitable status and only in one research it has a good status. Face-to-face communication as a traditional instrument is the most practical link channel for the KS. In one research, the research sample because of unfamiliarity with IT and lack of instruction, gains nothing from the IT. In sum, it can be said that except in one research, KS has no acceptable status in the researches. 1.5. Conclusions & Suggestions The results of the study showed that in Iranian academic institutions, the influencing factors on Ks are not in good condition. Among the human factors, lack of trust, lack of enough time for KS, lack of staffs' skill and capability for KS and hoarding the KS are the barriers for KS. Positive attitude toward the KS and knowing its importance encourages the KS in Iranian university institutions. Also among the organizational factors, the
386
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
unsuitable organizational structure is a barrier for KS. On the other hand, the organizational culture does not support the KS and because of this reason it is not considered for the staffs of the motivational systems. Although the social relationships among the staffs is good and encouraging for the KS, but lack of team work is a barrier for KS in Iranian academic institutions. Regarding the IT factors, they have correlation with KS too, but because of different reasons like little familiarity with these technologies, lack of instruction for using them or reluctance to use them have caused their unacceptable status and so the face-to-face communication has become the dominant link channel. In sum, there is no acceptable and formal KS among the Iranian academic institutions and KS is performed informally among their staffs. Since there is a positive attitude toward KS and knowledge of its importance in the organizations, the authorities should provide the opportunities that increase the exchanges among the staffs and decrease the fear of losing the unique value of knowledge in people so that there would be no lack of trust and hoarding the knowledge among them as a barrier for KS. The role of organizations' managers in encouraging the staffs to take an active part in the process of establishing, transferring and KS is the most important factor in setting a knowledge-based culture in the organization. Also if the manager encourages the staffs and asks them to present new solutions and take time for KS and consider it beside the organization's activities, it can be a helpful factor in setting the culture of KS among them. The manager's ignorance to this case and neglecting the process of exchanging the knowledge among the members, cannot motivate the staffs and produce a good atmosphere for KS. On the other hand, due to the positive relation that exists among the structure and the experts' attitude toward KS, increasing the flexibility in decision makings and decreasing the focus of the power in doing the affairs can have a significant role in motivating people toward KS. It can be concluded that by strengthening the social relationships among the staffs, they will have more positive attitude toward KS. The organization has to provide the staff with suitable instruments and communication channels in order to improve the process of KS. There should be a teaching for using these instruments and communication channels and also an encouragement to use them, because using the traditional communication methods like face-to-face, do not have the capability to be changed into the concrete knowledge. All in all it can be said that each organization should look forward to the future regarding the KS and consider it as a valuable competition in achieving the benefits. References [1] Al-Alawi, A. I., Al-Marzooqi, N. Y. & Mohammed, Y. F. (2007). Organizational culture and KS: critical success factors. Journal of KM, 11(2), 22-42. [2] Alizadeh, N. (2009). Investigating the attitude of the members of the faculty about KS in educational institutions: a case study of agriculture faculties in Tehran and Tarbiat Modarres universities (Mastre’s Thesis). Tarbiat Modarres university [3] Cheng M. Y., Ho J. S. Y., & Lau, P. M. (June 2009). KS in Academic Institutions: a Study of Multimedia University Malaysia. Electronic Journal of KM, 7 (3), 313–324. [4] Chennamaneni, A. (2006). Determinations of KS behaviors: Developing and testing an integrated theoretical model (Doctoral dissertation). The University of Texas at Arlington [5] Chiu, S. (2006). The effects of relation models on KS among members in the group: An empirical study of IS project team (Master’s thesis). National Sun Yat-Sen University. [6] Connelly, C. E. & Kelloway, E. K. (2003). Predicators of employees’ perceptions of KS cultures. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(5), 294-301. [7] Dokhtesmati, M. (2012). Investigating the usage of KS in developing university libraries website of Tehran city and World the role of librarians on it:presenting proposed model. (Master’s Thesis). Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch [8] Eghbu, C. O. & Robinson, H. S. (2005). Construction as a knowledge based industry. KM in construction (pp. 42-49). In Anumba, C. J., Egbu, C. & Carrillo, P. M. (Eds), Oxford: Blackwell Publishing [9] Hamid, S., & Nayan, J. M. (2005). Preliminary study of KM in a library: a case study of the National Library of Malaysia. International Conference on Libraries. Penang, Malaysia. [10] Hossein Gholizadeh, R. and Mirkamali, M. (2010). The key factors influencing KS: a case study of faculty of psychology and training sciences of Firdausi University. Iran's high education committee's periodical , 3(1), 61-78 [11] Ismail, M. B. & Yusof, M. Z. (2010). The Impact of Individual Factors on KS Quality. Journal of Organizational KM. 2010 (2010). 1-12 [12] Jacobson, C. M. (2008). KS between individuals. In Jennex, M. E. (Ed), KM: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications (pp. 16331642). Hershey: Information Science Reference
Mohaddeseh Dokhtesmati and Roghayeh Ghorbani Bousari / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 73 (2013) 383 – 387
387
[13] Jain, K. K., Sandhu, M. S. & Sidhu, G. K. (2007). KS among Academic Staff: A Case Study of Business Schools in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Journal of the Advancement of Science and Arts. 2(Science and Technology), 23-29. [14] Jewels, T. (2006). Motivator and inhibitors to KS in IT project teams (Doctoral dissertation). Queensland University of Technology, School of Information Systems [15] Keshavarzi, A. (2007). Barriers and facilitators of KS in the organizations. KM first national conference, Tehran, Iran. [16] Kim, S. & Ju, B. (2008). An analysis of faculty perceptions: Attitudes toward KS and collaboration in an academic institution. Library and Information Science Research, 30, 282–290. [17] King, W. R. (2008). Knowledge shkaring. In Jennex, M. E. (Ed), KM: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications (pp. 73-79). Hershey: Information Science Reference. [18] Khatamianfar, P. (2007). An investigation of the status and grounds of knowledge sharing in the organization of Astan Qods Razavi libraries in accordance with "Totoka and Take oochi" pattern. Bookholding and information sharing periodical, 10 (4), 177-212 [19] Liao, S., Chang, J., Cheng, S. & Kuo, C. (2004). Employee relationship and KS: a case study of a Taiwanese finance and securities firm. KM Research & Practice, 2, 24-34 [20] Lindsey, K. L. (2008). KS barriers. In Jennex, M. E. (Ed), KM: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications (pp. 1491-1499). Hershey: Information Science Reference [21] Liu, S. M. (2009). What Shapes Employees ‘decision to share knowledge in real work practices: An exploration of KS processes and factors shaping workers’ KS when performing a task (Doctoral dissertation). University of Washington [22] Liu, K. L., Chang, C. C., & Hu, I. L. (2010). Exploring the effects of task characteristics on KS in libraries. Library Review, 59(6), 455468. [23] Mardi Arbat Olia, Gh. (2010). Barriers of KS among BA students of Payam Noor University of Tehran center. (Mastre’s Thesis). Faculty of economic and social science, Payam Noor university, Tehran [24] Mirghafouri, H., Sadeghi Araee, Z., and Saberi, H. (2008). An investigation and analysis of KS barriers in governmental organizations: a case study of Yazd province' governmental organization. The sixth international management conference, Tehran, Iran. [25] Pezeshkirad, Gh., Alizadeh, N., Zamani Miandashti, N. (2010). The investigation of factors influencing the attitudes of the experts of the propagation and agricultural education of the ministry of agricultural Jihad towards KS in the organization. Magazine of the Iran's economic and agricultural development researches. 41 (2), 41-49 [26] Renzl, B. (2008). Trust in management and KS: The mediating effects of fear and knowledge documentation. Omega: The International Journal of KM Science, 36, 206 – 220 [27] Sandhu, M. S., Jain, K. K. & bte Ahmad, I. U. K. (2011). KS among public sector employees: evidence from Malaysia. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 24(3), 206 - 226 [28] Sohrabi Yourtchi, B., Raeesi Vanani, A., and Shafiaa, S. (2010). Presenting a practical pattern for assessing the level of capability of KS: investigating the State universities of Tehran. IT and Sciences periodical, 26 (1), 5-28. [29] Widen-Wulf, G. (2007). Challenges of KS in practice: A Social Approach. Oxford: Chandos [30] Willem, A. & Buelens, A. (2009). KS in inter-unit cooperative episodes: The impact of organizational structure dimensions. International Journal of Information Management, 29, 151-160 [31] Zadjabbari, B. (2010). The effect of KS on electronic banking: the case study of Mellat Bank (Mastre’s Thesis). Shahid Beheshti University