Knowledge sharing among academics in selected universities in Tanzania.
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Date
2017
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Abstract
Higher learning Education sector in Tanzania is increasingly becoming competitive following
its liberalization in the year 1995. The universities are therefore being compelled to invest
and adopt new and powerful strategic tools to promote the academic enterprise in a way that
will preserve the competitive advantages that the institutions have hitherto enjoyed in a
monopolistic environment.
The importance of harnessing the knowledge asset to enhance competitiveness in Tanzanian
universities is now imperative considering the fact that a number of information and
knowledge systems in these institutions are disparate making knowledge sharing difficult.
Knowledge sharing in Tanzania is evidently low because of limited KM infrastructure, lack
of awareness about the importance of knowledge sharing, limited skills and inadequate funds
to build knowledge sharing infrastructure in the form of databases, intranets, portals, Web 2.0
and websites to mention but a few.
This study investigated the status of knowledge sharing in universities in Tanzania with a
view to proffering recommendations that would help the universities to effectively manage
knowledge assets and enhance competitive advantage in an increasingly globalised and
competitive higher education environment.
The study sought to address the following research questions: How does organisational
culture promote or hinder knowledge sharing among academics in the universities in
Tanzania? To what extent do universities in Tanzania support knowledge creation and
sharing among academics? What knowledge sharing strategies exist in the universities? How
are the academics leveraging knowledge assets in their core functions of teaching, research
and consultancy? What is the attitude of academics towards knowledge sharing? What factors
influence knowledge sharing among academics in Tanzanian universities?
The study was underpinned by the knowledge sharing model. The study adopted a post
positivist paradigm with survey research design. A mixed method approach was used
focusing on academics, librarians and deans of faculties. Data was collected using survey
questionnaire and interview schedule. The quantitative data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPPS) to produce descriptive statistics. Similarly, the
qualitative data was analyzed thematically and presented through narration.
The findings revealed that universities in Tanzania generally promoted a culture of
knowledge sharing among academics through among other ways: seminal presentations,
publications, public lectures, conferences and colloquia. The findings further showed that the
universities did not have formal organisation structures and policies for promoting knowledge
sharing. Attempts were however being made by the universities through the directorates of
research to promote knowledge sharing. The respondents were of the view that a dedicated
unit for coordinating and managing knowledge sharing as well as dedicated staff was
required. The findings identified funding, enabling knowledge sharing strategies, incentives
and rewards as some of the critical success factors that would promote a culture of
knowledge sharing among academics. The findings further revealed that the academics
leveraged knowledge assets mostly for teaching and research purposes, and to a lesser extent
for consultancy. The findings revealed that the academics had a positive attitude towards
knowledge sharing in spite of limited cases of knowledge hoarding that were reported.
The study proposes that enabling knowledge management policies, capacity building
strategies, ICT infrastructure development, incentives and awareness help cultivate a culture
of knowledge sharing among academics in universities in Tanzania.
The study findings indicated that the academics are aware of knowledge management and
knowledge sharing, they participated in knowledge sharing activities in the universities
though the universities are facing challenges such as funds, knowledge sharing policies which
hinder them to share knowledge effectively.
Description
Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2017.
Keywords
Knowledge management--Tanzania., Universities and colleges--Tanzania., College teachers--Tanzania.