A reflection on knowledge sharing research: patterns and trends

Purpose The purpose of this study is to bring to the fore the identity and image of knowledge sharing (KS) research in terms of the patterns and trends of its growth and its intellectual structure by systematically and objectively extracting various information from extant literature published in KS research area. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on the counting technique and bibliometric approach (citations and co-citations analysis) applied in extant literature published in the KS research area. Findings The study finds that KS research area is evolving and has immense potential to grow in the future. It elaborates upon the publications and collaborative research patterns and identifies the works, authors and journals that have significant theoretical influence in KS research area. The analysis reveals four major themes in KS research, namely, behaviour-oriented perspective of KS, understanding, frameworks and models of KS, technology-oriented perspective of KS and KS barriers. Research limitations/implications This study is based on research papers, published in KS research area, that have been extracted from selected journals by mining their titles with knowledge sharing as a keyword. Future studies may enhance the search space by including the abstracts in addition to the title while extracting papers in the search. Practical implications This study renders all stakeholders an extensive understanding about the direction of KS research. It will help future researchers to identify their areas of interest before venturing into a deeper search. Thus, it will be a significant resource and a quick reference for researchers in KS research area. The study can also help practitioners to focus on key aspects of KS and, further, apply appropriate organizational interventions to enhance KS in promoting innovation and gaining competitive advantage for their organizations. Originality/value This is one of the very few and early studies conducted to extract patterns and trends of growth and provide the intellectual structure with KS as a domain of research.