Unveiling the knowledge-sharing culture

It is generally acknowledged that organisation culture affects how knowledge processes such as knowledge-sharing evolve. Despite the growing attention to the aspects of culture, the knowledge management debate has not paid systematic attention to the assessment or measurement of a knowledge-sharing culture. This article discusses how such an assessment could be conceived. To support and illustrate the argument, it presents a case study involving the diagnosis of a knowledge-sharing culture at a government institution. The assessment framework used in the case study consists of two elements: 1 an assessment of the organisations' group culture and individuals' commitment to that culture using standard culture measurement methodologies interpreted in the light of knowledge-sharing behaviour 2 an inspection of the relationships between culture and knowledge sharing that materialise as potential barriers to knowledge sharing as cultural behaviour. As illustrated in the case research, this procedure allows educated guesses of which aspects of future knowledge-sharing behaviour may prove unproblematic and which aspects involve the risk of specific barriers (e.g., the not-invented-here barrier and resistance to seeking out new opportunities for knowledge sharing).