Culture, knowledge sharing and organisational learning. The mediating role of social media

Abstract

Culture, social media and knowledge sharing have been established to promote competitive advantages for organisations and employees. This thesis hence aimed to examine the impact of national and organisational culture on Community of Practice (CoP) knowledge-sharing behaviours through social media in enhancing organisational learning. It also investigated the role of organisational cultures (collaborative, competitive, creative and controlling) on CoP knowledge sharing in enhancing organisational learning with social media as a mediating variable. The study also assessed the role of national culture on organisational learning using social media and the impact of CoP knowledge-sharing behaviours on the relationship between social media and organisational learning in Ghanaian organisations. A sample of 415 employees from three sectors in Accra, Ghana was used. Collected data were then analysed using a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Partial Least Squares technique. National and organisational culture, CoP knowledge sharing behaviour, social media and organisational learning were all found to be positively related to each other. The results also showed that social media positively mediated the relationship between creative and competitive organisational cultures and CoP knowledge sharing but negatively affected controlling and collaborative organisational culture and CoP knowledge-sharing behaviours. The findings of the study showed that different cultural types can co-exist in one organisation with one being dominant and more supportive of knowledge sharing of community of practice through social media than others. Ethnicity might have impacted the findings as data was gathered from a multicultural region in Ghana. Collectivist culture had a negative impact on community of practice knowledge sharing through social media in enhancing organisational learning, which is not supported by the extant literature. Also, competitive organisational culture was positively related to community of practice knowledge sharing and social media which was equally unsupported. These findings can inform organisational managers and policymakers who are looking to promote performance, innovativeness, job satisfaction and competitiveness by establishing strategies that harness the human capital of their organisations through technologies, promoting social networks and cultural harmony. They should also facilitate flexibility, collaboration, trust, and freedom for them to freely engage with other community members to encourage knowledge sharing. Employees should be encouraged to use social media platforms more and get trained on information technologies for easy usage.

Keywords: Culture, social media. Community of practice, knowledge sharing, organisational learning

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ORCID for Tahir Nisar: orcid.org/0000-0003-2240-5327

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