The Factors that Affect the Knowledge-Sharing Behaviours of Female and Male Academics in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

For academics to be successful in a university career, it is generally acknowledged that relevant professional development is a necessity. Research by academics should be innovative and demonstrate an understanding of current issues and developments in their subject. Sharing such knowledge with others who are also endeavouring to learn, to understand or to keep abreast of current developments is as important. Knowledge management and knowledge-sharing in commercial settings, together with the elements that influence these practices, have been investigated by numerous researchers over a long period. However, there are few studies which have evaluated knowledge-sharing in an educational environment, and even fewer in relation to academics in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is, however, exceptional, in respect of knowledge management and sharing in the academic ecosystem, due to its atypical, prevailing socio-political environment and this may impact on the mechanisms and patterns of professional development amongst academics. Research in this social context, of behaviours well understood in conventional environments, is therefore merited in order to identify similarities and differences, filling an important literature gap and potentially contributing insights which may improve academic success in Saudi and stimulate new ways of thinking in other contexts. The aim of this paper is to determine the factors that affect knowledge-sharing behaviours amongst female and male academics in one of the higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. A theoretical framework is proposed which is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1985). The factors which are commonly considered to be the most influential on both gender's knowledge-sharing behaviours will be analysed and discussed in this exceptional setting. A survey will be distributed amongst academics to gather information for this research. The findings of this study will contribute to the body of published knowledge relating to the practice of knowledge-sharing among academics through the differentiation and quantification of factors which affect it. This will offer academics the opportunity to enhance their understanding of this topic and subsequently, to optimise their part in knowledge exchange processes.