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They, Us & Myself - We Become Better and Everything Goes Better

Vilute, Agne LU and Baumann, Lisa Eileen LU (2018) BUSN49 20181
Department 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:
author
Vilute, Agne LU and Baumann, Lisa Eileen LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A Study About Professionals’ Willingness to Share Knowledge in Professional Service Firms
course
BUSN49 20181
year
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}},
}