Enablers and constraints to knowledge creation, sharing and use: The case of policy advocacy networks

Purpose: This paper aims to develop and validate a framework about the enablers and constraints to the creation, sharing and use of knowledge, by analyzing how enablers and constraints in a particular information environment - advocacy networks - impact each of the phases of the knowledge process. Design/methodology/approach: The setting chosen for this research is a group of leading international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and their NGO partners in a developing country, pursuing a policy advocacy strategy in the context of an international donors conference. The qualitative research follows an embedded case study design with two levels of data collection and analysis: intra-organizational: an individual INGO; and inter-organizational: the advocacy network to which this INGO belongs. Findings: Most enablers and constraints are internal to organizations and focus on the phases of knowledge use. Constraints associated with organizations' cultures, individuals' information-processing preferences, and politics are prominent. The validated framework can then explain how specific constraints influence particular phases of the creation, sharing and use of knowledge and the nature of these constraints in settings where particular organizational cultures dominate. Originality/value: Researchers have studied the enabling conditions through which knowledge is created and shared. Some contributions have focused on the role of personal beliefs and formal procedures; higher codification of knowledge; social capital; or technology and measurement, among others. The literature has been mainly focused on identifying particular constraints, without paying much attention to how they are manifested in the distinct phases of the knowledge process. This paper aims to make a contribution in this area. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.