Knowledge Sharing in Business Organizations: Leadership Role in Knowledge Sharing at Turkish Enterprises

Knowledge Sharing in Business Organizations: Leadership Role in Knowledge Sharing at Turkish Enterprises

Korhan Arun (Namik Kemal University, Turkey)
Copyright: © 2017 |Pages: 22
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1965-2.ch004

Abstract

This chapter aims to explain leadship in knowledge sharing in the business environment. Knowledge sharing is not primarily an information technology issue, because knowledge exists not only in the minds of members but also in the business processes and structures of organizations. That is why Knowledge Sharing Culture (KSC) and leadership play a significant role on knowledge sharing. This chapter presents the findings of a study which was carried-out to investigate the effects of different leadership styles on knowledge sharing in business organizations. As leadership dimensions; transformational, transactional, autocratic, self-leadership and laissez-faire leadership styles were analyzed. A quantitative empirical research using the survey method was adopted to see the leadership effects on KSC in the 130 enterprises from the Aegean Free Zone/Turkey. The findings of the study revealed that trust, sharing data freely, friendship and teamwork were important in knowledge sharing.
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Literature Review

The nature of knowledge sharing processes depends on cultural (Bureš, 2003) and structural factors. Important factors of organizational culture are organizational structure, leadership, process, structure, reward system, IT system and people. Motivation, trust and interaction are also important factors (Al-Alawi, Al-Marzooqi, & Mohammed, 2007). Knowledge sharing is facilitated by leaders who are able to reconcile centralized and shared leadership (Santos, Wane & Lopes, 2014). Leadership plays a strategic role in knowledge sharing and in merging knowledge management with the organizational targets (Kukko, 2013). According to Davenport and Prusak (1998), leaders guide organizations’ professional knowledge managers and lead the development of learning and knowledge strategies. In other words, leaders have a key role not only in the knowledge sharing culture but also in the retention of the organizal knowledge (Lin, Chang, & Tsai, 2016).

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