Knowledge Sharing Investigation: What is the Knowledge Sharing of Managers Like?

Why do people share their knowledge? Who and what inspires them to do it especially within organizations in Central-Eastern European countries? The authors, at the University of Pannonia, Department of Management in Hungary, have conducted an empirical survey, which has investigated the characteristic features of knowledge sharing of managers, working under top managers at medium- and large sized enterprises. Beyond studies focusing mainly on the regions of the USA, Japan and Western Europe, there is barely any research work focusing on knowledge sharing in Central-Eastern Europe. This increases the importance of this research. The aim of the research was to reveal the factors which affect the maturity of knowledge sharing of these managers and to measure the role of these managers in the maturity of knowledge sharing. Before showing the initial results of our survey which was conducted before the beginning of and during the economic crisis, our paper first presents the growing importance of knowledge sharing in these days by giving a brief description of knowledge and knowledge sharing. The central part of this paper makes an attempt to compare the results of two assumed influencing factors of our survey, and their effect on the maturity of knowledge sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]