Share it or Keep it to yourself? Inculcating Knowledge Sharing Behaviors at Workplace Using a Culturally Oriented Framework

This conceptual paper explores the influence of organizational culture on knowledge sharing (KS) behavior. In specific, we will focus on two types of KS behaviors: collaborative and the competitive. Both types of behaviors will be mapped against different cultural dimensions as laid out in a theoretical framework called Hofstede (1984). The first section introduces the significance of KS and gives definitions of key concepts and the theoretical frameworks. The next section presents a culturally-oriented framework of KS behaviors. We propose that a collectivistic culture which inculcates collaborative behaviors within an organization promotes KS behavior in that organization. Paradoxically, individualistic culture that advocates competitive behaviors within an organization could either promote or hinder KS. Following that, we discuss the implications of KS for multinational corporations (MNCs) when cultural factors are taken into consideration, and the contribution of culture and knowledge sharing to the literature of knowledge management and international management. We conclude the paper with directions for future research on understanding other aspects of KS behavior.