Document Type

Theses, Ph.D

Disciplines

5.2 ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS, Business and Management.

Abstract

This qualitative research examines the knowledge-sharing (KS) behaviour of employees within a non-profit organisation (NPO) based in Dublin, Ireland. This NPO is a community-based service provider that supports people with disabilities and their families. It operates under the aegis of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The ability of employees to share knowledge is fundamental to the sustained care of society’s most vulnerable. Research on employees’ KS behaviour remains underrepresented within the non-profit sector. This gap in knowledge aligns with the NPO’s view that its KS environment requires improvement. In response to the literature review, a developed taxonomy conceptualises the organisation as an ecosystem composed of five interrelated clusters: individual, social, organisational, cultural, and technological. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews and analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). This analytical approach incorporates the concept of a coding family, which integrates emotion coding, values coding, and in-vivo coding within RTA praxis, enhancing trustworthiness and rigour. Sufficient ‘information power’ was achieved to address the research question: What influences the knowledge-sharing behaviour of employees within a community-based service provider? (Braun & Clarke, 2021d; Malterud et al., 2016). Through the analytical process of RTA, findings reveal 12 elements that this research calls axial connections. These interwoven connections are shown to impact employees’ KS behaviour within this NPO. This overview of the organisational ecosystem represents the building blocks that collectively shape KS practices. In addition, four themes showcase the underlying dynamics of employee KS behaviour within this organisation. The themes depict an environment with significant barriers to KS. They represent the embedded beliefs that have developed over time and within this specific organisational context. 2 The study proposes several recommendations to support the development of organisational strategies that enable KS behaviour. These findings offer practical value for organisational functionality while also contributing to organisational theory, motivation and workplace psychology, philosophical theory, methodology, and knowledge management (KM) theory.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/1yz2-0914

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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