Love your mistakes!—they help you adapt to change. How do knowledge, collaboration and learning cultures foster organizational intelligence?

Knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding in light of the mistakes acceptance component of learning culture- knowledge culture and human capital implications

Purpose

This study aims to examine the micromechanisms of how knowledge culture fosters human capital development.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical model was developed by using the structural equation modeling method based on a sample of 321 Polish knowledge workers employed in different industries.

Findings

This study provides direct empirical evidence that tacit knowledge sharing supports human capital, whereas tacit knowledge hiding does not, and this hiding is considered a waste of knowledge. If tacit knowledge does not circulate within an organization, it is a severe waste of an organization. The findings indicate that shame from making mistakes might impede the sharing of knowledge gained from making those mistakes, and in such cases, the knowledge remains hidden.

Practical implications

Leaders aiming to ensure human capital growth should implement an authentic learning culture composed of a learning climate and mistakes acceptance components that enable open discussion about mistakes on each organizational level.

Originality/value

The knowledge culture is found to be an essential element of building human capital but, at the same time, not sufficient without a learning culture, and its mistakes acceptance component. A permanent organizational learning mode that supports a continuous organizational shared mental model reframing is an antidote to tacit knowledge hiding.

Relationship between cultural intelligence and learning organization

Human capital is one of the critical resources for organizations around the world, and it requires significant learning and development (L&D) investments as a structured approach to become a learning organization. The study evaluates the relationship between cultural intelligence and learning organization by analyzing 364 responses received from employees-working across Indian organizations from varied sectors. The dimensions used for measuring learning organization in the study are – information sharing and accessibility, systematic problem solving, acceptance of error and experimenting with new approaches. Results demonstrate a significant positive relationship between learning organization and its four dimensions and cultural intelligence. The findings have implications for organizations to inculcate learning organization disciplines for improved cultural intelligence while also bridging the gap in the existing literature.

Organizational Culture as a Prerequisite for Knowledge Transfer among IT Professionals: The Case of Energy Companies

The energy sector is the epitome of Industry 4.0; therefore, it should be developed in line with the Industry 4.0 implementation framework and be managed according to the guidelines dedicated to knowledge-based enterprises. Under this model of evolution, the layers surrounding the technological aspects are first, knowledge management (in particular, its transfer), and then people, and culture. This study addresses two of the three identified levels by attempting to verify the organizational culture that supports professional knowledge transfer as the leading factor in effective specialist knowledge exchange in the energy sector. Recently, this sector has become highly dependent on IT solutions as the main factor for its development and security. A key role in this respect is played by IT professionals, whose attitudes and employee behavior are critical to the stability, efficiency, effectiveness, and security of IT systems in the energy companies. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical construct, based on indicated norms and values as organizational culture foundation and cultural practices. This article also aims to analyze and diagnose the components that support the professional knowledge transfer in different groups of organizational stakeholders. Systematic analysis of the scientific literature, expert evaluation, and structured questionnaires were used to develop and verify the hypotheses. The research results supported the hypotheses that organizational culture tailored to the knowledge workers’ needs and expectations, influence the effective and efficient circulation of IT expert knowledge.

Impact of mass collaboration on knowledge sharing process using mediating role of innovation capability

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of mass collaboration on the knowledge-sharing process in the manufacturing sector of Iraq in the mediation of innovation capability.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is quantitative in nature in which the data has been gathered from the primary sources of information through a survey questionnaire from 225 respondents. The structural equation structural equation modeling technique has been used to analyze the data along with the path assessment and confirmatory factor analysis confirmatory factor analysis.

Findings

The results of this study determined that in the context of the interactive system and mutual adjustment, the mediation of innovation capability is partial whereas, in the context of shared understating, the mediation is full. In addition to this, an interactive system and mutual adjustment had a significant effect on the knowledge sharing process, while the shared understanding was determined to have an insignificant effect on the knowledge sharing process.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study are limited to the manufacturing sector of Iraq. In addition to this, the study includes a limited sample size which must be increased by future researchers.

Originality/value

This paper ensures originality in the context of Iraq, as the associations tested in this study have not been tested previously considering Iraq.

Do mistakes acceptance foster innovation? Polish and US cross-country study of tacit knowledge sharing in IT

Purpose

This study aims to understand and compare how the mechanism of innovative processes in the information technology (IT) industry – the most innovative industry worldwide – is shaped in Poland and the USA in terms of tacit knowledge awareness and sharing driven by a culture of knowledge and learning, composed of a learning climate and mistake acceptance.

Design/methodology/approach

Study samples were drawn from the IT industry in Poland (n = 350) and the USA (n = 370) and analyzed using the structural equation modeling method.

Findings

True learning derives from mistake acceptance. As a result of a risk-taking attitude and critical thinking, the IT industry in the USA is consistently innovation-oriented. Specifically, external innovations are highly correlated with internal innovations. Moreover, a knowledge culture supports a learning culture via a learning climate. A learning climate is an important facilitator for learning from mistakes.

Originality/value

This study revealed that a high level of mistake acceptance stimulates a risk-taking attitude that offers a high level of tacit knowledge awareness as a result of critical thinking, but critical thinking without readiness to take a risk is useless for tacit knowledge capturing.