Knowledge sharing behaviour: the implications of attitudes, beliefs and organisational norms for governance in a public sector agency

The paper presents preliminary findings of a larger study examining knowledge sharing (KS) behaviour in the public sector. The first aim of the preliminary study was to analyse the attitudes and beliefs of KS behaviour and the organisational norms impacting on KS within a medium sized government department. The second aim was to identify the implications of KS attitudes, beliefs and norms for governance within a public sector agency. Twenty-two people were interviewed to elicit this information. The sample was a vertical and horizontal representation of the department population. Convergent interviewing methodology was employed. The findings revealed several clusters of beliefs about KS and organisational norms. that impacted on KS behaviour. The implications for governance included: protocols for managing sensitive/confidential information, bureaucratic and centralised decision-making structures, remuneration and reward structures, meeting government and community obligations and public sector accountability and reporting protocols. Implications for practice and future research were discussed.