Information Technology: An Enabler for Trust-Building, Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Transfer to Enhance Absorptive Capacity

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are evolving so fast that their impact on organisations is very high in terms of culture, environment and how businesses are managed today. This challenge demand organisations to adopt or adapt technologies that enable them to enhance their absorptive capacity, i.e. the ability to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge, to create a trust culture, achieve their goals and sustain their competitive advantage among rivals. In particular, information technology plays an important role as an enabler for trust-building, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer practices, and as such, for influencing the absorptive capacity of organisations. Although information technology has been extensively studied as a tool and medium for a variety of organisational practices, the role of information technology as an enabler of trust-building for knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and knowledge absorption practices has not yet been studied. This research seeks to fill this gap. A qualitative research methodology is used, specifically through exploratory case studies and semi-structured interviews, to answer the research question. A framework is proposed to understand the role of information technology as an enabler for trust-building, knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and knowledge absorption processes. The final version of the framework will guide organisations to deploy adequate information technology and - infrastructure to facilitate trust-building environment and to enable the pathway to innovation, improved performance and competitive advantage. The paper represents research in progress. The final model will be validated in the Healthcare industry in Australia.