Work

Organisational culture as an antecedent of knowledge sharing in NGOs

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Knowledge sharing (KS) is a challenge for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) given its high turnover and the informal nature of KS. We examine KS in Portuguese NGOs by adopting the three levels of Schein’s theory of organisational culture: artefacts, norms/values, and basic assumptions. We test the influence of the three variables we propose to be proxies of the three levels: internal communication, ethical climate, and altruism. This study’s objective is to a) ascertain whether the different levels are correlated with each other, and b) to understand the effects of organisational variables on KS. We found evidence to sustain the correlation among the three levels showing that Schein’s theory is supported in the NGO’s. Our findings confirm that an ethical climate and altruism have a positive impact on KS. However, the analysis fails to support the influence of internal communication. Altogether, we conclude that organisational culture positively impacts KS at NGOs.

Source: Knowledge Management Research & Practice

DOI: 10.1080/14778238.2021.1908864

Authors: Carla Curado, Paulo Henriques, Mirian Oliveira, Rute Martins

Institutions: University of Lisbon, ISEG - Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão

Language: English

Topic: Knowledge Management and Sharing

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Award: CSG - Investigação em Ciências Sociais e Gestão