Knowledge sharing between different generations of employees: an example from Slovenia

Abstract

Knowledge is increasingly being recognised as a valuable asset within organisations since it is an important building block of their competitive advantage. However, unless knowledge is shared among employees, organisations may fail to make the most of their intellectual capital. Of particular interest is the sharing of knowledge between employees belonging to different generational cohorts, since each of them possesses unique competencies. The study investigates how selected individual factors (i.e. willingness, motivation, communication, collaboration) impact upon the sharing of own knowledge with co-workers. In addition, it analyses the perceptions of the amount of knowledge shared through cross-generational mentoring relationships. A web-based survey was used to obtain the data from 268 employees. Findings indicate that while motivation and willingness significantly influence knowledge sharing, communication and collaboration exhibit insignificant relationships. Furthermore, respondents, both younger and older, report that the amount of knowledge received in mentoring processes is less than what is desired.

The influence of the physical work environment of business centres on social networking and knowledge sharing in the Netherlands

“…Therefore, motivating older employees, for example by HR managers, to share their knowledge with others may be especially beneficial for the organization. By giving older employees a mentoring role, younger employees can learn from the knowledge and experiences of their more senior colleagues (Brčić and Mihelič 2015). It is also recognized that reversed mentoring could help older employees to acquire technology-related skills from younger employees (Murphy 2012).…”

Evaluation of knowledge synergy components

“…Knowledge creation is the main stimulus in an organisation (Nonaka &Takeuchi, 1995), while a long-term competitive advantage and profi tability come from the knowledge used by an organisation (Desauza, 2003;Huang, Ye, & Gao, 2012). Many researchers (Wu & Choi, 2004;Khan, 2009;Ketchen & Hult, 2011;Fombelle, Jarvis, Ward, & Ostrom, 2011;Cho, Shaw, & Kwon, 2013) talk about benefi ts of knowledge synergy, but only a few decide to model and calculate it. Modern science has limited methods for the evaluation of knowledge synergy.…”

“…It also includes knowledge sharing that must be stimulated at the organisational level. Employees' willingness and motivation are crucial for knowledge sharing, which Brčić and Mihelič (2015) proved in their study focused on factors infl uencing knowledge sharing in a generationally diverse workforce. In the emerging network economy and knowledge society, organisations must be ready for complex knowledge dissemination and management processes.…”

Eldri starfmenn og yfirfærsla þekkingar í orkufyrirtækjum

“…Fyrirtaekið hvetur til óskipulagðra samraeðna þar sem starfsmenn raeða málin, spyrja spurninga og velta fram nýjum hugmyndum á eigin forsendum, til daemis á kaffistofu, í samraeðuherbergi eða í opnum vinnurýmum (Ingi Rúnar Eðvarðsson, 2004;Peet o.fl., 2010). Hins vegar verða fyrirtaeki að gera sér grein fyrir því að slík aðferð tryggir hvorki að miðlun þekkingar fari fram né hvaða þekking fer til hvaða starfsmanna (Brčić og Mihelič, 2015).…”

“…Ef einstaklingar treysta ekki þeim upplýsingum eða þeirri þekkingu sem þeir fá er mjög ólíklegt að þeir nýti sér hana til fulls (Barson, Foster, Struck, Ratchev og Pawar, 2000). Vilji einstaklinga og hvöt til að miðla og laera af öðrum er einnig mjög mikilvaegur þáttur fyrir miðlun þekkingar (Brčić og Mihelič, 2015;Ellis, 2001;Nonaka, 2000). Einnig að hafa góð samskipti á milli starfsmanna (Lin, Lee og Wang., 2009;McNichols, 2010;Swart og Kinnie, 2003), sérstaklega samskipti augliti til auglitis sem byggja upp meira traust (Arif, Egbu, Alom og Khalfan, 2009;Harvey, 2012).…”