Knowledge hiding as an obstacle of innovation in organizations a qualitative study of software industry

Abstract

Transmission and popularization of knowledge among personnel leads to a functional synergy in the innovation processes of organizations. It has been found that most research on organizations are related to knowledge sharing, while the knowledge hiding has seldom been investigated. Firms that operate in a software industry are among the knowledge-based organizations in which employees are required to possess specialized knowledge and skills to perform their tasks. The dissemination of knowledge and information can help organizations to be innovative and to improve their competitive advantage. Current study shows that information does not flow through the employees of sample organizations, and employees prefer to hide their organizational knowledge from their colleagues in order to maintain their own portfolios. Using thematic analysis, and interviews as data collection method, some thematic issues were extracted. These themes include, behavioral characteristics, complexity of knowledge, Power of requesting person, organizational incentives for knowledge sharing, Lack of clear responsibility for knowledge sharing, Sense of internal competition, level of trust to colleagues, effect of ubiquitous media, learning ability of the knowledge demandant, Level of personal contacts with colleagues, Deceiving colleagues, Violence, Negative feedback from organizational environment.

Keywords

• knowledge hiding
• knowledge sharing
• knowledge management
• software industry