Knowledge sharing in knowledge-intensive manufacturing firms. An empirical study of its enablers

This paper aims to investigate, following previous studies on knowledge-sharing (KS) processes that consist of knowledge donating (KD) and knowledge collecting (KC), the relationship between KS processes and KS enablers to understand the effect of organizational, individual and technological factors. The study is based on a Web survey. Data were collected from a sample of 759 knowledge workers selected from 23 knowledge-intensive manufacturing companies exposed to international markets and located in Tuscany (Italy). The analysis is based on multivariate regression models considering KD and KC as dependent variables. The results show that individual, organizational and technological factors matter to KS. Specifically, the paper reports that individual-level enablers and supportive leadership have a positive effect on both sub-processes of knowledge sharing. Further, the organic management system has a strong and positive impact on KD, while the efficacy of information and communication technology solutions is positively related to KC.