Influence of cultural factors on knowledge sharing in ...

Int. J. Knowledge Management Studies, Vol. X, No. Y, xxxx

Influence of cultural factors on knowledge sharing in medium-sized enterprises within transition economies Narasimha Rao Vajjhala* Computer Science Department, University of New York Tirana, Tirana, Albania Email: [email protected] *Corresponding author

Timothy Baghurst School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA Email: [email protected] Abstract: Knowledge sharing is subject to organisational and national cultural influences, but medium-sized firms often implement general knowledge-sharing models without considering cultural factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cultural factors on knowledge-sharing activities in medium-sized enterprises in transition economies. The study was driven by the central research question: How do cultural factors influence employees’ perceptions of knowledge-sharing initiatives in medium-sized enterprises in transition economies? Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 managers working in ten medium-sized enterprises in Albania, which is a transition economy. Six themes revealed the influence of cultural factors on employees’ perceptions of knowledge-sharing initiatives in medium-sized enterprises in transition economies. Specifically, national culture and organisational culture influence employee behaviour and participation in knowledge-sharing activities. Thus, it is critical organisational leaders of medium-sized firms in Albania consider the influence of these factors before implementing knowledge-sharing activities in firms. Keywords: knowledge; knowledge sharing; knowledge management; transition economies; national culture; organisational culture; small- and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Vajjhala, N.R. and Baghurst, T. (xxxx) ‘Influence of cultural factors on knowledge sharing in medium-sized enterprises within transition economies’, Int. J. Knowledge Management Studies, Vol. X, No. Y, pp.xxx–xxx. Biographical notes: Narasimha Rao Vajjhala is an Assistant Professor at the University of New York Tirana. He holds a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership with specialisation in Information Systems and Technology from University of Phoenix, USA. He has a Master’s in Computer Applications (MCA) from Osmania University in India as well as Master’s in Copyright © 20XX Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

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N.R. Vajjhala and T. Baghurst Business Administration (MBA) from IUKB, Switzerland. He is a senior member of the Association of Computer Machinery (ACM). His research interests include knowledge management, knowledge sharing in transition economies, cross-cultural management, e-commerce and e-business. Timothy Baghurst is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Oklahoma State University. He holds a Doctorate from the University of Arkansas and three Masters degrees from other institutions. He has expertise in athletic and sports management and his research interests are in sports administration and ethics.

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Introduction

Knowledge sharing is a process of capturing, organising and distributing knowledge that is either gained from others or gained through years of work and personal experience by individuals (Okyere-Kwakye and Nor, 2011). Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from improved productivity and innovation by implementing knowledge sharing activities (Almahamid et al., 2010; Casimir et al., 2012). Knowledge sharing has been researched in the context of western countries and in particular developed countries (Michailova and Sidorova, 2010). However, there is a literature gap in the context of knowledge sharing in transition economies which have different political and economic conditions as compared to western developed countries (Burke, 2011). Transition economies include countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, China and other countries in Asia and Africa that are gradually moving from centralised command economy toward a free market economy (Michailova and Sidorova, 2010). Most of these countries started the process in the early 1990s and while some of the countries have completed the transition process, others are in different stages of transition. Transition economies represent almost one third of the world’s total population and play an important role in international commercial activity (McKenzie and Merrilees, 2008). For example, the Albanian economy is gradually moving from a centralised and strictly-controlled economic system toward a free-market economic system; it could benefit from increased productivity and growth in SMEs. SMEs form a significant number of firms in most countries. For example more than 99% of firms in Europe are SMEs (Lopez-Nicolas and Soto-Acosta, 2010; Mateev and Anastasov, 2010) and are common in transition economies such as Albania, where more than 99% of Albanian firms are categorised as SMEs (European Commission, 2011b). SMEs contribute significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) of transition economies in addition to serving as sources of innovation and job creation (Radu et al., 2011; Roóz, 2011). Therefore, the success of SMEs in transition economies is essential to complete the process of smoothly transitioning from a centralised economic system to one that is free market. Failure of knowledge sharing activities can hinder the development of SMEs because of loss of productivity and competitiveness (Wang and Wang, 2012). Knowledge sharing is a social-exchange process that is subject to cultural influences, including both organisational and national cultural influences (Chen et al., 2010; Michailova and Hutchings, 2006; Qian et al., 2008) and is an important component of the larger knowledge management process. According to Michailova and Sidorova (2010), most

Influence of cultural factors on knowledge sharing

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studies on knowledge management in transition economies applied an extension strategy using models and theories developed in western countries or in Japan. Therefore, because the social, economic and cultural conditions in transition economies are significantly different from the conditions in western countries, applying similar strategies to SMEs may not be as effective. Thus, current knowledge sharing models developed in western economies with differing cultural and other factors may not ‘fit’ a transitioning economy. Medium-scale businesses in a European transitioning economy such as Albania, have often implemented general knowledge-sharing models without taking into account the role of national culture and social factors such as trust. Cultural factors are important in the context of post-communist transition economies because these countries face problems with free and uncontrolled access to information due to of a culture of non-sharing and mistrust (Burke, 2011). Further, lack of trust between knowledge providers and receivers is identified as one of the major barriers to knowledge sharing in firms (Haas and Hansen, 2007). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine how cultural factors influenced employees’ perceptions of knowledge-sharing initiatives in medium-sized enterprises in transition economies. The central research question driving the study was: how do cultural factors influence employees’ perceptions of knowledge-sharing initiatives in medium-sized enterprises in transition economies? Three additional research questions included: 1

How do cultural factors, especially national culture, influence knowledge-sharing initiatives in SMEs in Albania?

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How do factors such as employee attitudes, morale and perceptions affect knowledge-sharing initiatives in SMEs in Albania?

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What changes, if any, do managers working in mediums-sized enterprises observe in the cultural behaviour of employees in the last two decades toward knowledge sharing in SMEs in Albania?

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Method

2.1 Participants Participants were 20 managers from ten medium-sized enterprises in Albania, determined using the criteria set for by the European Commission (2011b). Two medium-sized firms were chosen from each of the five important economic areas: ICT, food processing, banking and insurance, construction and tourism. These five economic areas represent 72% of the SMEs in Albania (European Commission, 2011a) and were chosen because most of the companies in these five areas are medium-sized companies. Participants were on average 35 (SD = 8.99) years of age almost evenly split between male (45%) and female (55%). Just over half (55%) had completed an undergraduate degree while 45% had completed a graduate degree. Participants had 10.5 (SD = 8.51) years of work experience and were evenly split (20% each) between the business sectors of food processing, construction, banking, tourism and ICT.

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N.R. Vajjhala and T. Baghurst

2.2 Instruments Open-ended interview questions were used as the data collection instrument for this qualitative, multisite, exploratory case study (see Appendix). Case studies are appropriate when the research questions are either ‘how or why’ type questions, the investigator does not require control of behavioural events and the focus is on contemporary events (Yin, 2009). The 27 interview questions were formulated specifically to obtain descriptive data from the participants that would address the central research question and the three research questions used to structure the study. The use of open-ended questions was appropriate as they provide access to the perspectives of participants about the perceived influence of cultural factors on knowledge sharing in their firms. The interview questions were formulated from the literature reviewed along with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory and Trompenaar and Hampden-Turner’s seven-dimensional cultural model (Hofstede, 1984; Strang, 2011; Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1997). Interview questions were developed through a pilot study, which helps refine data collection plans in terms of the data content and data collection procedures (Yin, 2009). It also ensured that the context and specific meanings of the words used in the interview were not ambiguous and were culturally appropriate. Five Albanian employees from one SME completed were interviewed, which resulted in some changes in the wording and sequence of the interview questions. Participants were from different age groups and genders and demonstrated different educational qualifications, work experiences and job positions. Appendix A provides a summary of participants’ ages, genders, educational qualifications, work experiences and job positions. Appendix B shows the descriptive demographic statistics of the interview respondents.

2.3 Procedure Following IRB approval, two employees from ten medium-sized enterprises were recruited. Human resource managers of these companies were approached and asked to recommend two employees at mid- or top-management fluent in English, had a minimum of three years of work experience and might be willing to participate. Participants all provided consent prior to data collection. After the employees signed the informed consent letter, they were provided with the choice of time and location of the interview. In addition, they were provided with a list of definitions of key terms so that they understood the terminology used in the interview questions. Interviews were conducted over a three month period and were recorded for transcription. Publically accessible documents as well as field notes were also included as data sources.

2.4 Validity and reliability Chain of evidence was maintained throughout the data collection process. The interviews were audio-recorded and a case study report format was maintained to ensure that evidence could be tracked from conclusions to participant transcripts and vice versa. A case study protocol was maintained consisting of an overview of the case study, field procedures, case study questions and a guide for the case study report. Participants were shown the copies of their transcripts within 48 hours of completion of the interviews and were given the opportunity to identify errors or omissions.


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2.5 Data analysis In this study, qualitative data were gathered using interviews and observations, which involved making field notes. The qualitative data were analysed using qualitative techniques, which consisted of assigning codes to the phrases (known as keywords in context) and then analysing the keywords in context using visual pattern comparisons to identify and group similar words together with the help of NVivo (version 9.0) content analysis software. To some extent, quantitative techniques were also be used to analyse the qualitative data because, once the phrases were coded and organised into thematic keyword hierarchies, groups of words in the hierarchy could be counted and grouped with totals, which is a quantitative technique. At that point, frequency histograms could be created by applying a relevant non-parametric statistical technique. For example, the medians could be compared between companies or types of roles using Wilcox, Mann-Whitney, or Friedman tests to determine whether some of the participants had significantly different perceptions of multicultural knowledge sharing as compared to other participants. Using quantitative techniques to analyse qualitative data required a transition from a constructivist philosophy to a positivist ideology, but the scope was limited to exploratory statistics rather than factor correlation or causal relationships. The use of software for analysing data (NVivo 9.0) was essential because of the large number of interview transcripts to be analysed. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and imported as sources resulting in 148 pages of text. The respondents in the final study are referred to as R1, R2 and so on. All participants were shown copies of their transcripts within 48 hours of completion of their interviews and given the opportunity to identify errors or omissions. Because none of the participants opted to make any changes in the transcripts, inter-rater analysis was not required. According to Creswell (2012), the objective of the coding process is to divide the text into segments, label the segments with codes, examine the codes for redundancy and collapse the codes into broad themes. The steps followed during data analysis were those suggested by Creswell (2012): a

transcripts were transcribed verbatim from the audio-recorded interviews

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key phrases from the transcripts were recorded

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a list of code words collected from the previous step was prepared and redundant codes removed

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the process of reduction in the number of codes continued until six main themes were identified.

The open coding process was used to divide the text into segments, label the segments with codes, examine the codes for redundancy and collapse the codes into broad themes. First, the transcripts were transcribed verbatim from the audio-recorded interviews. The key phrases from the transcripts were then recorded and a list of code words collected; redundant codes were either removed or merged. The process of reduction continued until six main themes were identified.

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Results

Six themes emerged from the data with additional sub-themes. Each is described below.

3.1 Theme one: national culture influences employee behaviour Seventeen out of 20 respondents (85%) indicated that the Albanian national culture influences employee behaviour. These comments were further divided into sub-themes of cultural diversity and sensitivities, influence of communism on national culture, fear of sharing knowledge among employees, lack of trust, cultural openness and voluntary participatory behaviour demonstrated by employees. Fourteen of the 20 respondents (70%) highlighted what they thought were key characteristics of Albanian culture. According to respondent R13, “Albania is a small and patriarchal society, and knowledge sharing is more open between family and friends but limited with outsiders”. The respondents also indicated that apart from communism, the high degree of economic and political instability in the decade following the fall of the communist regime had its influence on Albanian national culture. Sixteen of the 20 respondents (80%) indicated that communism had a negative influence on Albanian culture because of the restrictions and false propaganda used by the communist regime to control free communication of the population. R1 stated, “years of communism have taught people to keep quiet about what they know and not to share information”. Respondent R14 expressed similar viewpoint by stating that, “the communist regime thrived on insecurity and lack of trust and did not create an atmosphere where people could trust each other”. Ten of the 20 respondents (50%) indicated a feeling of fear of knowledge sharing among the Albanian population and 12 of the 20 respondents (60%) indicated that a significant majority of the Albanians hesitate to share knowledge. R3 attributed the hesitation to share knowledge as a national cultural problem: “The fear of knowledge sharing is a national cultural problem because people did not share information as they did not trust each other”. Fourteen out of the 20 respondents (70%) indicated lack of trust as a key cultural barrier in the context of Albanian national cultural characteristics. For example, R10 stated that, “Albanians are quite social towards foreigners, but there is still some hostility and lack of trust among Albanians themselves”. According to R12, “Albanians are a bit hesitant to trust people who are not part of their inner circle or among close friends”. R17 also expressed similar views: ‘Albanians do not trust that easily’. Eleven out of the 20 respondents (55%) stated cultural openness as a key factor characterising Albanian national culture. One of the respondents stated that Albania was a closed society during the communist regime and any cultural openness evident was partly because of the inquisitive nature of Albanians toward foreign societies. R7 stated, ‘Albanian culture is quite open and inclusive’ and R8 expressed that ‘Albanian people are quite friendly and are quite inquisitive’. Fifteen out of the 20 respondents (75%) indicated that they had witnessed voluntary participatory behaviour among the employees provided employees had adequate information and awareness about the knowledge-sharing activities. Voluntary participatory behaviour could be categorised as influenced by both the national and organisational culture. R15 described the cultural attitude of Albanians as ‘open-minded’. One of the respondents also stated while voluntary participatory behaviour is inherent in


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Albanian national culture, there is lack of initiative and Albanians only demonstrate voluntary participatory behaviour given proper motivation and encouragement.

3.2 Theme two: role of organisational culture in knowledge sharing Sixteen out of 20 respondents (80%) indicated the role of organisational culture on knowledge-sharing behaviour demonstrated by employees. Five sub-themes emerged: organisational environment, knowledge-sharing subculture, culture of willingness to participate in organisational activities, top management initiative and support and influence of organisational regulations on employee participation. Five out of the 20 respondents (25%) stated that active participation of employees in the knowledge-sharing activities in the firm would be influenced by strong organisational environment positively. R2 stated, “the most important factor to motivate employees in the company is the organisational environment and reciprocal benefits in their job”. This was supported by R9’s belief that “positive organisational environment made knowledge sharing easier in the organisation”. A positive organisational environment was identified as one of the key factors facilitating the creation of a proper knowledge-sharing culture in the firm. Seven out of the 20 respondents (35%) stated that the presence of the knowledgesharing culture in a firm is dependent on the procedures and systems managing knowledge sharing in the organisation. To develop and enhance the knowledge-sharing culture in a firm, the respondents suggested the design of knowledge-sharing activities should be planned and managed carefully. R1 emphasised the importance of knowledge-sharing activities in the firm: “Companies should have procedures and systems to manage knowledge sharing in an organisation”. R13 expressed similar views by adding that “If there are no formal procedures, knowledge sharing will be random and not of much use”. Six out of the 20 respondents (30%) indicated the culture of willingness to share knowledge in their organisations was a key factor influencing employee behaviour about new knowledge-sharing activities in their firms. According to R4, “willingness to learn and share is very important”. According to the respondents, the culture of willingness is built at an organisational level through the initiative and support from the top management along with a strong mechanism of acknowledgement of the participation of the employees. Eighteen out of the 20 respondents (90%) indicated top management support is essential for successful implementation of knowledge-sharing activities in the firm. According to R1, “top management should help build the system and the procedures required to formalise the process of knowledge sharing”. R12 supported this view indicated that “strategically important activities such as knowledge sharing could not succeed without top management support”. In addition, according to R11, “the top management should be the initiator to promote and motivate employees to share knowledge”. Eleven out of the 20 respondents stated that while voluntary participation would be ideal, the presence of organisational regulations would definitely formalise and standardise participation in knowledge-sharing activities. R18 supported the presence of organisational regulations by stating that, “the employees share knowledge mainly because of organisational regulations”. This is supported by R10 who found that “most of

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the participation in knowledge-sharing activities was because of organisational regulations”.

3.3 Theme three: factors influencing active employee participation in knowledge-sharing activities The respondents indicated several factors that could influence the participation of employees in knowledge sharing. Three sub-themes were identified which included incentives for knowledge sharing, training and workshops and awareness of the benefits of knowledge sharing. Nineteen out of 20 (95%) respondents believed that reward systems would help motivate employees to participate actively in knowledge-sharing activities in the firm. More specifically, 11 of the 20 respondents (55%) suggested nonmonetary incentives, including merit-based rewards, acknowledgement of contribution, career progression and exposure to industry-wide practices as some of the non-monetary benefits that organisations could offer to motivate employees. R10 emphasised that, “if the people feel that these training activities help them in their career, their expectation of incentives might non-monetary”. According to R14, “recognition and incentives could be some of the factors that would motivate employees to participate actively in knowledge sharing”. R17 emphasised the importance of planning such activities: “monetary incentives could be counterproductive if they are not planned carefully”. Most of the participants stated that their organisations lacked formal knowledgesharing practices and most of the knowledge-sharing activities were informal. Sixteen out of the 20 respondents stated that knowledge sharing took place through activities such as training sessions or workshops. Respondent R2 stated, “the leadership academy in the company helped in training employees in developing their leadership skills for their individual benefit as well as benefit of the company”. Respondent R15 stated, “the company regularly organises training courses to facilitate knowledge sharing”.

3.4 Theme four: perceived risks of knowledge sharing Nine out of the 20 respondents (45%) expressed concerns over potential perceived risks of sharing knowledge which led to three sub-themes of employees’ fear of loss of position at workplace, lack of information about knowledge sharing and the risk of loss of confidential information. Clustering among employees could increase risk of failure of knowledge-sharing activities. Fourteen out of the 20 respondents (70%) indicated they had observed clustering based on age in their organisations, with inadequate social interaction between the older and younger generations of employees. R3 stated that ‘Clustering was based on age and work experience’. R10 supported this statement: “Age and sometimes gender-based clustering can be observed”. R11 added that “Clustering based on age groups, especially with young employees”. Nine out of the 20 respondents (45%) stated the most significant risk of knowledge sharing was the fear that sharing knowledge could have potential negative consequences on their job positions, with the possibility of replacement. One of the respondents stated that this fear was associated with the lack of trust between the people involved in this sharing process. R13 stated, “Sometimes people do not share knowledge openly because of insecurity about their position in the company”. “Employees do not eagerly participate in knowledge sharing, not because of resistance but because of fear of losing their jobs or losing their value” added R15.


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Six out of the 20 respondents (30%) identified risks associated with the potential loss of confidential information because of knowledge sharing. One of the respondents stated that reliability and confidentiality are key risks in knowledge sharing because competitors could easily benefit from the loss of confidential organisational information. According to R11, “important information may leak out of the organisation; as a result, there might be loss in confidentiality because of knowledge sharing”. This was supported by R13 who reported that the “loss of confidentiality as the employees benefiting from knowledge sharing in the organisation may eventually join the competitors or start their own businesses”.

3.5 Theme five: knowledge as an organisational property Fourteen out of 20 respondents (70%) stated that knowledge is an organisational rather than individual property. One of the respondents stated that because organisations invest significant financial resources in the training and development of employees, knowledge should be treated as an organisational property. Six out of the 14 respondents (30%) who stated that knowledge is an organisational property also emphasised that individuals have right to use the knowledge, but the organisation has the primary right over the knowledge. Respondent R1 explained that “it is important for employees to understand the importance of sharing knowledge, the fact that knowledge obtained in the business is not personal property of employee; instead, it belongs to the organisation”. R5 supported this view by explaining that, “knowledge belongs to the organisation because of the amount of resources, mainly financial resources, invested by organisations on human resources”.

3.6 Theme six: using information systems for knowledge sharing Thirteen out the 20 respondents (65%) stated that either their organisations did not have adequate information systems and technology to use for knowledge sharing or did not make adequate use of existing technological resources. R5 stated, “we tried using information systems but these systems were not received and used well by the employees. The employees seemed uncomfortable with using these systems”. R7 emphasised the importance of investing on information systems: “we need to explore investing in information technology to facilitate knowledge sharing”.

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Discussion

The purpose of this qualitative, multisite, exploratory case study was to examine the influence of cultural factors on knowledge-sharing activities in medium-sized enterprises in the transition economy of Albania. The influence of national culture on employee behaviour emerged as a significant theme and national characteristics identified included cultural openness, diversity, close family-ties, religious tolerance and a patriarchal social structure. The theme was consistent with literature indicating that national culture plays a significant role in determining the efficacy of knowledge sharing and transfer within the same organisation (Jing, 2010). Herremans and Isaac (2007) used Hofstede’s (1984) power-distance cultural dimension to illustrate that countries whose national culture is characterised by low power distance are more conducive to creating an appropriate

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knowledge-sharing atmosphere. This is supported by Jing who reported that individuals in high power-distant cultures accept the unequal distribution of power and are hesitant to share knowledge across levels in the hierarchy. Literature suggests that collectivist cultures are characterised by strong social ties. Further, high-context communication facilitates knowledge sharing because members of collectivist cultures are likely to share knowledge for the benefit of their groups (Jing, 2010; Schumann et al., 2010). Within collectivist cultures, the factors of in-group and out-group membership are important. Current research suggests that people from collectivist cultures are likely to share knowledge within the group but may not be inclined to share knowledge with members outside the group (McNeish and Singh, 2010; Michailova and Hutchings, 2006). A critical theme revealed in the study was the role of organisational culture in knowledge sharing. Sixteen out of the 20 respondents highlighted the role of organisational culture on influencing the knowledge-sharing behaviour demonstrated by employees in an organisation. This was consistent with the literature, as respondents described several aspects of organisational culture. Alavi et al. (2005) identified organisational culture as the most significant factor contributing to efficient knowledge management and organisational learning. This is supported by O’Dell and Hubert (2011) who stated that the success of knowledge-sharing activities in a firm is dependent on the removal of structural barriers in the organisation and providing enablers to knowledge sharing, such as technology. Perceptions about the risks of knowledge sharing emerged as a major theme in the study, with nine out of the 20 respondents (45%) expressing concerns over the potential risks of knowledge sharing. National culture can influence the knowledge-sharing behaviour of individuals by increasing an individual’s willingness to take risks (King, 2007). The three sub-themes under this theme were clustering among employees, fear of loss of job position at workplace and risk of source of information and lack of confidentiality. Fourteen of the 20 respondents (70%) identified knowledge as an important organisational asset and property which is consistent with the literature. The resource-based view of a firm states that knowledge is an important resource and an asset for a firm (Nonaka and von Krogh, 2009). Theriou et al. (2009) used the knowledge-based view of a firm to emphasise that knowledge is a primary contributor to competitive advantage and performance. In addition, it is an important intangible asset in small firms where resources are limited in comparison to larger firms (Mejri and Umemoto, 2010). The importance of information systems for knowledge sharing has emerged an important theme for this study. Zawawi et al. (2011) identified lack of information and communication technologies as one of the major barriers in knowledge sharing. SMEs often do not have adequate financial resources to invest in expensive knowledge-management information systems (Lester and Tran, 2008). According to Lester and Tran, even if SMEs manage to invest in information technology resources, they might find it difficult to maintain these resources because of issues such as keeping up with technological changes and training employees. SMEs can consider investing instead on alternative information and communication technologies, such as the internet, an organisational intranet, or groupware, to identify and share knowledge (Tan, 2011). Lester and Tran (2008) highlighted the difficulties that medium-sized firms face in keeping up with technological changes and training


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employees regularly after investing in information systems. Therefore, firms need to consider the role of cultural factors before implementing knowledge sharing and management information systems in the organisation to prevent resistance to the use of these systems (Currier, 2010; Szabó and Csepregi, 2011).

4.1 Practical application The findings of this study provide several practical applications for organisational managers of SMEs in Albania. First, the influence of national culture should be considered before designing and implementing knowledge-sharing activities. Albania, as a transition economy, has cultural characteristics different from other transition economies in Eastern and Central Europe as well as from other countries. Albanian culture is viewed often as a mix of Western European, Eastern European and Balkan cultures (Hoxha and Hatala, 2012). As compared to other transition countries from Eastern and Central Europe, Albania was under the influence of Turkish Ottoman culture for over five centuries. According to Vajjhala and Strang (2014), the influence of Ottoman Empire pushed Albania to collectivism, acceptance of power structure and a moderately short-term focus. It is important to consider the influence of communism on Albanian culture. Because older employees may have experienced the communist regime which had one of the harshest forms of communism among all the Central and Eastern European countries (Sharku and Bajrami, 2011). The decades of harsh communism and communist ideology not only influenced education but also resulted in indoctrination, causing significant behavioural and social influences on the citizens of these countries (Sharku and Bajrami, 2011). Therefore, organisational leaders in SMEs need to take advantage of the current cultural openness characterising Albanian culture and explore mechanisms for resolving important issues, including fear of sharing knowledge and lack of trust that may be evident in older employees. Second, organisational leaders should foster the development of an organisational culture conducive to knowledge sharing. The development of an organisational environment where employees feel free to communicate and share their experiences is essential for the successful implementation of knowledge-sharing activities. To be effective, initiative and support of top management is imperative. Leaders must actively participate in all phases of knowledge-sharing activities while promoting a culture of willingness within the organisation that encourages active participation of employees in these activities. Third, leaders should identify the factors influencing active participation of employees in knowledge-sharing activities. These include developing a formal incentive or reward system for employees, developing formal training and workshops and increasing awareness of the benefits of knowledge sharing among employees. Fourth, leaders must clear misconceptions among employees about the perceived risks of sharing knowledge and reduce clustering among employees based on age or work experience. Clustering can be reduced through enhancing social interaction among the members of the organisation in an environment of mutual trust. Employees should not be concerned about the consequences of sharing knowledge with co-workers. Further, organisational leaders of SMEs should also take steps to ensure that confidential information essential to maintaining the competitive advantage of the firm is not lost because of knowledge sharing either with internal sources or with external entities. The

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political and organisational leaders in Albania could consider the possibility of setting up a nationwide organisation that would serve as a free, common medium for knowledge exchange. This organisation could also serve as a medium for sponsoring entrepreneurship and economic development. Fifth, organisational leaders must understand the importance of knowledge as an organisational property and valuable asset and continually develop mechanisms for identifying key sources of generating, sharing and storing knowledge so that this most valuable resource can be used to sustain the competitive advantage of the firm. The creation and sharing of new knowledge would help encourage innovation within the organisation and help in increasing the organisational growth and competitiveness. Sixth, organisational leaders in SMEs should consider investing in information systems; if the current resources within the organisation do not permit investment in information systems, the organisational leadership must identify alternative approaches to knowledge sharing. These alternative mechanisms could include the use of social networks and other Web 2.0 technologies that are both economical and simple to use.

4.2 Limitations and future research Findings should be considered in light of some limitations, which also provide areas for future research. In this study, five major economic sectors representing a significant proportion of the Albanian economy were included; however, not all sectors were represented and some of the findings might not be applicable to other economic sectors. Thus, this study should be replicated in another transition economy in Central or Eastern Europe to further explore the influence of cultural factors on knowledge sharing in SMEs. Second, the study should be extended to other large firms in Albania to explore and identify whether cultural factors influence knowledge sharing in large-sized firms as well as medium-sized businesses. The new information generated from this study could be used by medium-sized businesses intending to implement knowledge-sharing activities in the firm or even by firms already implementing knowledge-sharing activities that can benefit by making changes to existing activities. Third, future studies could add to existing understandings about the influence of communism on inter-cultural communication and knowledge sharing.

4.3 Conclusions Albania, as a transition economy, has cultural characteristics different from other transition economies in Eastern and Central Europe as well as from other developing countries. It is important to consider the influence of communism on Albanian culture, as employees from the older generation who might have spent significant time under the communist regime are still in the workforce and have a crucial role to play in knowledge sharing. Organisational leaders in SMEs need to take advantage of the current cultural openness characterising Albanian culture and explore mechanisms for resolving important issues, including fear of sharing knowledge and lack of trust. Organisational leaders can also take advantage of the voluntary participatory behaviour demonstrated by Albanian employees and identify mechanisms for motivating employees to participate actively in knowledge sharing. The development of an organisational environment where employees feel free to communicate and share their experiences is essential for the successful implementation of


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knowledge-sharing activities. Organisational leaders need to promote and encourage the integration of a knowledge-sharing culture within the larger organisational culture. The initiative and support of top management is an essential aspect for demonstrating organisational commitment to employees. Organisational leaders have to participate actively in all the phases of knowledge-sharing activities, starting from the design of the initiatives to the implementation and review of the results of these activities on employee productivity and organisational innovation. The findings of this study highlight the important role of the top management not just in designing knowledge-sharing activities, but also in monitoring the implementation of these activities and evaluating the results of the implementation. Top management should be the initiator of knowledge-sharing activities and need to consider the three important factors influencing employee participation in knowledge-sharing activities which include developing a formal incentive or reward system for employees, developing formal training and workshops and increasing awareness of the benefits of knowledge sharing among employees. Organisational leaders need to understand the importance of knowledge as an organisational property and valuable asset. The organisational leadership of SMEs needs to continually develop mechanisms for identifying key sources of generating, sharing and storing knowledge so that this most valuable resource can be used to sustain the competitive advantage of the firm. Further, they should encourage creation of new knowledge and promote sharing of the newly created knowledge. The creation and sharing of new knowledge would help encourage innovation within the organisation and help in increasing the organisational growth and competitiveness. Organisational leaders in Albanian medium-sized firms can take advantage of the collectivist masculine societal structure in Albania to promote knowledge sharing as a mechanism for the collective benefit of employees. Organisational leaders in SMEs need to consider investing in information systems; if the current resources within the organisation do not permit investment in information systems, leadership must identify alternative approaches to knowledge sharing. Organisational leaders should not invest in any generic knowledge management systems but adapt the information systems and technology policies to meet the national and organisational cultural requirements.

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Appendix A Summary of demographics Respondent

Age

Education

Work experience (years)

Gender

Business sector

R1

35

Masters

12

Female

Food processing Food processing

R2

36

Bachelors

13

Male

R3

29

Bachelors

6

Female

Food processing

R4

40

Bachelors

17

Male

Food processing

R5

30

Masters

6

Male

Construction

R6

32

Masters

12

Male

Construction

R7

60

Bachelors

37

Male

Construction

R8

30

Bachelors

6

Female

Construction Banking

R9

30

Masters

7

Female

R10

38

Masters

10

Female

Banking

R11

28

Masters

8

Male

Tourism

R12

36

Masters

10

Male

Tourism

R13

32

Bachelors

7

Female

ICT

R14

48

Bachelors

23

Female

ICT

R15

52

Bachelors

26

Male

Banking

R16

39

Masters

13

Female

Banking

R17

50

Bachelors

25

Male

ICT

R18

29

Bachelors

4

Male

ICT

R19

29

Masters

8

Female

Tourism

R20

35

Bachelors

11

Male

Tourism

Appendix B Descriptive demographic statistics Category

Attributes

Respondents (%)

Male

55

Female

45

Bachelors

55

Masters

45

Gender

Education

17


Descriptive demographic statistics (continued) Category

Attributes

Respondents (%)

20–29 years

20

30–39 years

55

40–49 years

10

More than 50 years

15

1–9 years

40

10–19 years

40

20–29 years

15

More than 30 years

5

Age

Work experience

Appendix C Interview questions Part-1: Personal-demographic information related questions •

Q1: What is your age? (participant may prefer not to answer)

•

Q2: What is the highest educational degree that you have earned? (participant may prefer not to answer)

•

Q3: How many years of work experience do you have?

•

Q4: In what business sector have you been working?

•

Q5: What is the number of full-time employees working in the company you work at?

•

Q6: In which industry does your company operate?

Part-2: Questions related to organisation and organisational culture •

Q7: How long you have been working in this organisation?

•

Q8: Describe your role in your organisation.

•

Q9: How would you define knowledge in your organisation?

•

Q10: What are your perceptions about knowledge sharing in an organisation?

•

Q11: Are there any current initiatives or activities facilitating knowledge sharing in your organisation? If so, what are they?

•

Q12: Describe your experiences, if any, with previous knowledge-sharing activities in your organisation.

Part-3: Questions related to the cultural dimensions of knowledge sharing •

Q13: How do employees in your organisation react to issues such as trust while sharing knowledge?

18

N.R. Vajjhala and T. Baghurst •

Q14: Do employees in your organisation participate in knowledge sharing voluntarily or do they share knowledge because of organisational regulations?

•

Q15: Can you elaborate on the factors that motivate employees to participate in knowledge-sharing activities?

•

Q16: Have you noticed clustering according to age or group status among employees when they are sharing knowledge?

•

Q17: Do the employees in your organisation experiment with new knowledgesharing activities, or do they follow knowledge-sharing activities developed by top management?

•

Q18: What kinds of benefits, either individual or group, do you expect from knowledge sharing in your organisation?

•

Q19: Would employees in your organisation participate voluntarily in knowledge sharing if no direct personal gain, monetary or non-monetary, were offered for these activities?

•

Q20: What kinds of risks or disadvantages (if any) do you expect from knowledge sharing in your organisation?

•

Q21: Do you view knowledge as an individual property or a property belonging to the organisation?

•

Q22: What do you think the role of top management in promoting knowledge sharing should be?

•

Q23: Is there any resistance among employees towards participation in knowledge-sharing activities in your organisation?

Part-4: Questions related to influence of national culture on knowledge sharing •

Q24: How do you think decades of communism have influenced the willingness of employees to participate in knowledge sharing?

•

Q25: What are the major cultural barriers, if any, to knowledge sharing in your organisation?

•

Q26: What factors should management of an organisation consider while developing knowledge-sharing initiatives in an organisation?

•

Q27: What are the national cultural characteristics typical to Albanian culture that might facilitate or hinder knowledge sharing?

Part-5: Closing question •

Thank you for providing all the helpful information. Do you have any questions for me?