They, Us & Myself - We Become Better and Everything Goes Better
(2018) BUSN49 20181Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Knowledge sharing is a key element in professional service firms (PSFs), as it is the knowledge that ultimately constitutes the core of their business. However, knowledge sharing is mainly voluntary and cannot be detached from the professionals engaging in it. Thus, it appears pertinent to appreciate professionals’ perspective and perception of knowledge sharing, as well as to understand their willingness to share knowledge. For this purpose, we choose to research lawyers as a classical example of professionals. Through a hermeneutic approach, we further put the willingness to share knowledge into its wider context. We explore the interdependencies between the lawyers’ power within the firm, their identification with profession and... (More)
- Knowledge sharing is a key element in professional service firms (PSFs), as it is the knowledge that ultimately constitutes the core of their business. However, knowledge sharing is mainly voluntary and cannot be detached from the professionals engaging in it. Thus, it appears pertinent to appreciate professionals’ perspective and perception of knowledge sharing, as well as to understand their willingness to share knowledge. For this purpose, we choose to research lawyers as a classical example of professionals. Through a hermeneutic approach, we further put the willingness to share knowledge into its wider context. We explore the interdependencies between the lawyers’ power within the firm, their identification with profession and organisation and, ultimately, how these concepts facilitate understanding the willingness to share knowledge. Our research portrays how the lawyers identify strongly with their profession, but even more strongly with the organisation they work for. In combination, these two identifications induce professionals’ willingness to share knowledge. Moreover, due to their strong organisational identification, lawyers’ understanding of
knowledge as a source of power does not inhibit their willingness to share knowledge. By contrast, power increases when knowledge becomes visible through sharing, and thus augments professionals’ willingness to engage in knowledge sharing. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8944347
- author
- Vilute, Agne LU and Baumann, Lisa Eileen LU
- supervisor
-
- Anna Jonsson LU
- organization
- alternative title
- A Study About Professionals’ Willingness to Share Knowledge in Professional Service Firms
- course
- BUSN49 20181
- year
- 2018
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Keywords: Identification, Knowledge Sharing, Power, Professionals, Professional Service Firm, Willingness
- language
- English
- id
- 8944347
- date added to LUP
- 2018-06-19 09:22:37
- date last changed
- 2018-06-19 09:22:37
@misc{8944347, abstract = {{Knowledge sharing is a key element in professional service firms (PSFs), as it is the knowledge that ultimately constitutes the core of their business. However, knowledge sharing is mainly voluntary and cannot be detached from the professionals engaging in it. Thus, it appears pertinent to appreciate professionals’ perspective and perception of knowledge sharing, as well as to understand their willingness to share knowledge. For this purpose, we choose to research lawyers as a classical example of professionals. Through a hermeneutic approach, we further put the willingness to share knowledge into its wider context. We explore the interdependencies between the lawyers’ power within the firm, their identification with profession and organisation and, ultimately, how these concepts facilitate understanding the willingness to share knowledge. Our research portrays how the lawyers identify strongly with their profession, but even more strongly with the organisation they work for. In combination, these two identifications induce professionals’ willingness to share knowledge. Moreover, due to their strong organisational identification, lawyers’ understanding of knowledge as a source of power does not inhibit their willingness to share knowledge. By contrast, power increases when knowledge becomes visible through sharing, and thus augments professionals’ willingness to engage in knowledge sharing.}}, author = {{Vilute, Agne and Baumann, Lisa Eileen}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{They, Us & Myself - We Become Better and Everything Goes Better}}, year = {{2018}}, }