Communication tools as drivers of employees’ knowledge sharing: evidence from the Czech Republic

  • Received January 14, 2020;
    Accepted March 25, 2020;
    Published April 6, 2020
  • Author(s)
  • DOI
    http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.18(1).2020.36
  • Article Info
    Volume 18 2020, Issue #1, pp. 415-427
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

For many organizations, knowledge sharing is essential to keep their competitive ability. As characteristics of available communication media might influence knowledge flows in the organization, this study examines if the frequency of some communication media usage and their perceived usefulness relate to the extent of knowledge sharing. The study applied a quantitative research design and used opinion-based questionnaires. In total, 178 participants from the Czech Republic were involved, mainly from manufacturing industry. Significant positive correlations between “how often employees use the defined instruments for gathering and communicating information in work” and “how useful employees find the defined instruments for gathering and communicating information in work” to “the extent of knowledge sharing in the organization” were identified. Additionally, the frequency of the use of communication media predicted the extent of knowledge sharing in the organization. Specifically, the frequency of the use of meetings significantly predicted the extent of knowledge sharing (β = .54, p < .001). Moreover, perceived usefulness of communication media projected the frequency of the use of communication media. The findings confirm that if employees see the offered communication tools as being useful, they are willing to use them more often, and it has a positive effect on the extent of knowledge sharing. Therefore, the design of communication tools should take into account the needs and requirements of the workforce who will use it. Additionally, organizations should organize effective meetings if they want to enhance knowledge sharing in the organization.

Acknowledgment
This work was supported by Tomas Bata University in Zlín [grant numbers RO/2016/07, RO/2018/04].

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    • Figure 1. Theoretical model
    • Figure 2. Path analysis
    • Table 1. Profile of companies and respondents
    • Table 2. Overview of communication media
    • Table 3. Summary of exploratory factor analysis for the questionnaire of the frequency of communication media usage
    • Table 4. Summary of exploratory factor analysis for the questionnaire of the communication media perceived usefulness
    • Table 5. Statistical characteristics of the variables and Pearson’s correlation coefficients
    • Conceptualization
      Jana Matošková
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      Jana Matošková
    • Formal Analysis
      Jana Matošková
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