External Influences in Inter-organisational Knowledge Sharing

Inter-organisational knowledge sharing is affected by many influences, both internal and external to the collaborative group. This is particularly so in government-industry collaborations where there is increased external stakeholder engagement and complex socio-political issues. While there has been research on the individual and organisational influences on knowledge sharing in the inter-organisational domain, there has been little examination of the external influences that are beyond the control of the collaborative group. This research uses the themes identified in the Environment Influences component of Holsapple and Joshi's Threefold Knowledge Management framework, to examine the external knowledge sharing influences on three government-industry knowledge collaborations. Results show that despite increased technology options, these groups use minimal technology to aid face-to-face knowledge exchanges. Additionally, access to, and promotion of, knowledge resources is influenced by the competitive market that develops in 'fashionable' socio-political issues. The external influences have three key effects on knowledge sharing: lack of technology application hinders the knowledge sharing activities of new members; the competitive market could promote a loss of group knowledge resources and the need to undertake socially or politically motivated projects can minimize the impact of knowledge shared.