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Interorganizational knowledge sharing in a science and technology park: the use of knowledge sharing mechanisms

Andrea Raymundo Balle (Escola de Negócios, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, RS, Brazil and Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal)
Mário Oscar Steffen (Escola de Negócios, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, RS, Brazil)
Carla Curado (ADVANCE/CSG, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal)
Mírian Oliveira (Escola de Negócios, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, RS, Brazil and ADVANCE/CSG, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal)

Journal of Knowledge Management

ISSN: 1367-3270

Article publication date: 25 April 2019

Issue publication date: 11 December 2019

1449

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to uncover the combinations of knowledge sharing mechanisms that organizations in a science and technology park in Brazil use to share managerial and technical knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopts a qualitative approach that uses a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to analyze data that are gathered from 51 managers of organizations in a science and technology park.

Findings

The results show that knowledge sharing happens regardless of the type of knowledge. There are more alternative paths that lead to knowledge sharing than to its absence. Regarding the type of knowledge shared, there are more alternative configurations that lead to managerial knowledge sharing than to technical knowledge sharing. Only the older organizations in the science and technology park abstain from knowledge sharing.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the qualitative nature of the study, no generalization is possible. Additionally, the study’s limitation is that it involves organizations from a single science and technology park.

Practical implications

The results offer managers of organizations in science and technology parks to choose from alternative combinations of mechanisms to either boost their knowledge sharing or to promote knowledge protection.

Originality/value

The paper provides an original contribution by identifying the combinations of mechanisms that organizations in a science and technology park use that leads to the sharing of specific knowledge types. The findings also identify the combination of mechanisms that older organizations use that prevents them from sharing knowledge.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the support provided by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazil,scholarship Programa de Doutorado-sanduíche no Exterior/Processo n° 88881.132892/2016-01), CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – Brazil) by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - Portugal) under the project UID/SOC/04521/2013.

Citation

Balle, A.R., Steffen, M.O., Curado, C. and Oliveira, M. (2019), "Interorganizational knowledge sharing in a science and technology park: the use of knowledge sharing mechanisms", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 23 No. 10, pp. 2016-2038. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2018-0328

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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