Knowledge sharing and firm innovation capability in Croatian ICT companies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically distinguish the influence of the individual factors (enjoyment in helping others and knowledge self-efficacy), organizational factors (top management support and organizational rewards) and technology factors (information and communication technology use) on knowledge-sharing processes. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a survey of 196 employees from large ICT companies in Croatia, and structural equation modeling was used to investigate the research model. Findings Results of the empirical research indicate that enjoyment in helping others as an individual factor, top management support as an organizational factor, and ICT use as a technology factor significantly influence knowledge-sharing processes. The results also suggest that the willingness of employee to donate and collect knowledge enables the firm to improve innovation capability. No influence of the individual factor knowledge self-efficacy on the employee knowledge-sharing behavior was found within this research. Research limitations/implications Subjectivity of respondents, Likert scale – perception, and future research can include higher number of population and examine how personal traits (such as age, level of education, and working experience) and organizational characteristics (such as firm size) may moderate the relationships between knowledge enablers and processes. Practical implications From a practical perspective, the relationships among knowledge-sharing enablers, processes, and firm innovation capability may provide a guide regarding how firms can promote knowledge-sharing cultures to sustain their innovation performance. Originality/value This study identifies several factors essential to successful knowledge sharing, and discusses the implications of these factors for developing organizational strategies that encourage and foster knowledge sharing.