Knowledge Sharing Mechanisms in Business Networks of SMEs: Findings from an Empirical Study

Purpose - Network collaborations continue to be a central focus in a firm's success and businesses are regularly striving to harness the collective capabilities of the networks to which they belong through the use of effective collaborative strategies. It is therefore vital for the firms to ensure sound and effective knowledge sharing strategies in their network practices. Previous literature has extensively investigated the impact of these network strategies on the performance of firms, but little empirical research has been conducted to examine the process of knowledge sharing through network collaborations. Moreover, the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is substantially unexplored in reference to these problems. Hence, the main purpose of this article is to examine the mechanisms at the base of knowledge sharing in SME business networks. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from SMEs through an extensive survey covering 116 SMEs based in the UK that manifested different modes of collaboration with their business partners and different knowledge sharing mechanisms. Empirical data was used to determine the factors that contribute to knowledge creation and important hurdles in sharing the knowledge between various network partners. A chi-square test, ANOVA test, a post-hoc analysis and a factorial analysis were conducted to analyse the dataset and verify robustness of findings. Originality/value - Key findings of this research include understanding of formal and informal mechanisms used by SMEs to share knowledge in business networks, as well as key barriers associated to implementation. Moreover, results are discussed on the light of theory and in reference to different industries. Practical implications - The paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on different mechanisms of knowledge sharing in SME business networks. Findings are relevant to academics for further development of theory and to practitioners for the formalisation of knowledge sharing strategies in a SME environment.