Knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and SMEs: evolution, antecedents, outcomes and directions

Autor: Anikó Csepregi, Amitabh Anand, Birgit Muskat, Amibika Zutshi, Andrew Creed
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Bibliometric analysis
Knowledge management
Economics
Mittelbetrieb
Management Science
enterprise
Unternehmen
knowledge sharing
SMEs
bibliometric analysis
systematic literature review
VOSviewer
Organization development
0502 economics and business
ddc:330
Personalwirtschaft
Wissenstransfer
Wissensmanagement
wirtschaftlicher Erfolg
Applied Psychology
Kleinbetrieb
Innovationsfähigkeit
strategisches Management
business.industry
Organisationsentwicklung
05 social sciences
Wirtschaft
knowledge management
medium-sized firm
Small business
knowledge transfer
economic success
human resources management
Management
Knowledge sharing
Systematic review
small business
Human resource management
strategic management
050211 marketing
Strategic management
organizational development
innovation capacity
business
Knowledge transfer
050203 business & management
Zdroj: Personnel Review
ISSN: 0048-3486
DOI: 10.1108/pr-05-2020-0372
Popis: PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to systematically synthesize the extant literature of knowledge sharing (KS) and knowledge transfer (KT) in the small and medium enterprise (SME) context and to contribute with predictions of emerging themes.Design/methodology/approachApplied is a systematic literature review using three bibliometric techniques: (1) textual analysis for keywords and abstracts to identify the research hotspots, (2) co-citation analysis of references to identify the evolution of KS and KT in SME and (3) bibliographic coupling analysis of documents to synthesize antecedents and outcomes.FindingsA conceptual map emerges from the review to reveal the antecedents of KS and KT at the individual, group and organizational levels. The analysis shows the strategic importance of KS and KT for the SME context. Specific findings include: (1) KS and KT are involved in enhancing SMEs strategic focus for human resources, including organizational learning, customer relations, creativity, higher profit and positive effects on operational processes and decision-making. (2) Innovation, trust and performance are identified as central human factors linked to KS and KT in SMEs. (3) Human resource (HR) management research could contribute to KS and KT in the SME domain by exploring KS- and KT-based practices, linking the emergence of innovation and innovative behaviors to these practices, leading to a better understanding of strategies that enable the long-term storage and retrieval of tacit and explicit knowledge as organizational memory in the SME context.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first to systematically review KS and KT in SMEs and propose a concept map. The research adds value to the growing literature of KS and KT and exposes the need for more specific activities to support SME managers, as well as HR managers, who need to facilitate KS and KT in SMEs.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: