Knowledge sharing through information technology tool in multinational organisation

Abstract

It has been said that, knowledge is the only source of a sustainable competitive advantage and that the enterprise market value is increasingly dictated by its intellectual capital. Knowledge-based organisations such as multinationals are prime examples of organisations where access to and the sharing of knowledge is critical.

The primary aim of this thesis is to contribute to research by investigating the usage and impact of the Intranet for knowledge sharing in MTN Cameroon. An exploratory empirical case study was adopted for this research. Using qualitative research method involving semi-structured in-depth interviews, this research examined the Intranet’s impact on the modes of knowledge sharing as represented in Nonaka & Takeuchi’s (1995) knowledge conversion model and key organizational conditions.

The overall results of the research revealed that the Intranet is part of a combination of knowledge sharing mediums used at the organisation. The results of the research showed that the Intranet positively impacted on knowledge sharing by influencing the socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation modes of the Nonaka & Takeuchi’s (1995) knowledge conversion model. The results also importantly uncovered several enabling and impeding factors influencing the usage and impact of the Intranet at the organisation. The results of this research support and extend the argument that IT tools that facilitate KM must take into consideration the technical and non-technical organisational factors that could affect usage. The results therefore highlight the importance of a knowledge sharing culture and a flexible, context dependent structure governing the usage of the Intranet.