Knowledge Sharing and Dynamic Capabilities: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

Knowledge sharing in organizations is a focal process leading to organizational adaptability and sustainable growth. Dynamic capabilities development is critical for this. Diversity, inclusive culture, and gender balance are seen as factors that also support organizations' development. The question of the role of gender in sharing and using knowledge to initiate change in organizations remains open. This study aims to fill this gap. Based on a survey targeted to Polish knowledge workers (495 cases), our data was analyzed using OLS regression (SPSS PROCESS software ver. 3.4). Our research shows that for a manager position, gender matters for the reconfiguring dynamic capability (DCR) building in the organization, thanks to tacit knowledge sharing (TKS). The results show that female managers support DCR in the organization even if TKS does not support their efforts. If supported, their positive influence on DCR grows but not as fast as observed for men with lower starting skills. So, when holding managerial positions, women lose motivation to support changes. The question that arises is "why"? There are some hypothetical assumptions: it might be that since women worked so hard to earn their managerial positions, they want to secure them and avoid any risks connected to changes. In the particular case presented, women managers' lower willingness to support changes may be also caused by their lower level of self-confidence. However, it might be that the reasons are quite different, thus solving this issue requires further studies. The critical value of the presented research is that it delivers one more proof, this time from the knowledge management (TKS) and change implementation (DCR) perspective, that gender inequality in workplaces has negative consequences for organizations.