Exploring Employee Perceptions of the Relationships Among Knowledge Sharing Capability, Organisational Culture and Knowledge Sharing Success: Their Implications for HRM Practice

The empirical literature suggests that human capital knowledge sharing capability (employees' abilities, motivations and opportunities), influences knowledge sharing within organisations (Andrawina, Govindaraju, Samadhi and Sudirman 2008; Lin 2007). An organisation's culture also affects knowledge sharing by moderating employee activity. Knowledge sharing capability and organisational culture are therefore important factors to consider when developing Human Resource Management (HRM) practices that facilitate successful knowledge sharing. 270 knowledge workers in four knowledge-based organisations were surveyed about their perceptions of knowledge sharing capability, organisational culture and knowledge sharing success. Our study confirms that both knowledge sharing capability and organisational culture are important for knowledge sharing success, suggesting they play a significant role in the design of knowledge-driven HRM practices. This has important implications for HRM delivery in Malaysian and global knowledge based organisations, as human capital knowledge sharing capability is affected by desirable employees' local cultural values. Implications for HRM practices are discussed in the paper.