Since Nonaka and Takeuchi wrote their book the “knowledge-creating” company in 1995, organizations across the globe attempted to manage their knowledge as we moved to the knowledge based economy, some succeeded and some still trying. Many authors and studies shows that managing knowledge is key for success and competitive advantage. Universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) as knowledge-intensive organizations are no different, they are in the knowledge business. However, are they managing their knowledge assets?
I have been involved in a study to explore knowledge management and sharing in HEIs particularly among academics (research and teaching) from global perspective. The preliminary partial findings of the study indicate the following trends:
- Very low and I mean very low participation by academics in the quantitative part of the study (online surveys)
- Reluctance of academics to participate in structured interviews
- Unwillingness of academic managers (department heads and program managers) to provide access to academics, they listed many reasons. One of them is lack of time ‼
- Institutions’ procedures in some cases prohibited academics from participating in research outside the university due to many reasons (some geographical locations not all to be fair)
Indeed, the above initial findings of the study are unexpected and disturbing, however, some academics when reviewing the initial study findings stated ‘it is even preposterous to even talk about knowledge sharing management among academics while we do this in daily routines with students and research’. Now do they? I believe that the notion of some academics questioning such topic indicate perceived hegemony and dismiss the objective of searching for knowledge, excellence in teaching and learning.
I believe academics at HEIs are intellectual leaders that must nurture open learning environment, humbleness and positive attitudes towards sharing and collaboration. While academics must come down from their ivory sanctuaries and recognize the ever challenges facing society, economy and education, HE policy makers shall recognize these issues, develop and implement strategies to institutionalize KM and sharing culture to take societies to the knowledge era.