Knowledge Sharing as a Driver of Competitive Advantage: Two Cases from the Field

Knowledge sharing, that is the elicitation of knowledge from experts and its transfer to potential stakeholders, has become essential for organisations to remain competitive. Knowledge sharing is particularly relevant in the current socio economic environment shaped by user connectivity and business convergence, where collective knowledge means value for customers and competitiveness for suppliers. This research explores the importance of knowledge sharing within and between organisations, in order to contribute to current efforts to devise effective mechanisms for engagement. The paper describes a qualitative research based on two case studies from the transport sector and the utility services respectively. It was found that regardless of the nature of the business it was essential that individuals, groups and decision makers within the organisation had a common understanding of the key issues driving the business. In order to reach such a joint view, a collaborative, people-based approach to knowledge sharing proved valuable in both case studies. The paper describes both cases and draws some lessons to be learned by the knowledge management research and practice communities.