Why Employees Do (Not) Share What They Know?

Purpose - This study contributes to the understanding of barriers and enhancers of knowledge sharing through a case study based investigation of critical, and often overlooked, underlying psychosocial factors that drive the knowledge sharing behaviour of employees. The study aims to provide evidence that employees' willingness to share knowledge is influenced by various psychological and social factors, which are not always easily captured and understood by managers (Berman, West & Richter Jr. 2002). By investigating those factors from employees' perspective, it will become possible to draw on some important knowledge-sharing barriers and to explore areas for improvement. Design/methodology/approach -. We propose an approach based on constructivism, employing a case study methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 employees at a local branch of Bank A, Bulgaria. Questions focussed on knowledge sharing behaviour, its barriers, triggers and enablers as well as the social and individual dynamics determining knowledge sharing behaviour. Interviews were transcribed and subsequently analysed using coding and categorizing. Originality/value - This methodology puts in evidence some intriguing patterns, not yet thoroughly explored by organisational researchers. The paper aims at providing an insight into employees' perspectives on knowledge sharing and the psychosocial factors which have an impact on employees' knowledge sharing behaviour. Furthermore, this paper seeks to make a contribution to the body of literature (Al-Alawi, Al-Marzooqi & Mohammed 2007), which explores the role of the cultural context in understanding the process of knowledge sharing by carrying out a study within a Bulgarian organisation. Practical implications - The outcomes of this study can inform practices aimed at the enhancement of the knowledge sharing process in knowledge-based companies, including banks and other financial service providers. The examination of the Bulgarian context demonstrates that a simple transfer of Western practices of knowledge sharing may not be the most adequate approach in the context of an Eastern European organisation, and that knowledge management strategy can be enhanced with some focus on the knowledge sharing process as a social phenomenon.