Modelling the effect of perceived organisational policies on knowledge management in libraries: Focus on the moderating role of transformational leadership and professional commitment

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of perceived organisational policies (POPs) on knowledge management (KM) with regard to the moderating role of transformational leadership (TL) and librarians’ professional commitment. The study was conducted in three stages. First, the research moderating variables were chosen through an explorative study and surveying the librarians. Following the design of the theoretical model, the Delphi method was employed to validate it. Finally, the model was tested with a sample of 205 librarians working at Iranian state universities. To examine the causal relationships between the research instrument variables, the structural equation modelling technique and Smart PLS software were used. The results of the study revealed that POP was moderated through TL and the librarians’ professional commitment and affected the processes of knowledge acquisition and identification, knowledge generation and sharing, and knowledge application. The results, further, confirmed the strong effect of POP on professional commitment and the effect of TL on KM. The findings indicate that moderating the negative effects of POP in academic libraries could pave the way for the improvement of librarians’ job performance. To date, no empirical investigations have examined the effect of POP on KM in libraries with regard to the moderating role of TL and the librarians’ professional commitment. This study is assumed to fill this gap.

Motivational factors promoting knowledge sharing in the non-profit sector in Thailand

This study aims to investigate how organizational design – especially culture, employee intentions, intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors, and processes – promotes knowledge sharing in the non-profit context. The research used a quantitative analysis with data from a sample of 213 non-profit organizations. The sample organizations were from diverse sectors operating actively in Thailand. The descriptive statistical technique and analysis of factor loading value were utilized to present the surveyed data. Based on the study findings of the descriptive statistics data, it was noted that motivational factors such as availability, value, and enjoyment in helping the colleagues via sharing the knowledge were remarkably associated with organizational knowledge sharing. Furthermore, the results revealed that sub-factors of knowledge sharing culture, intentions, and processes were more extraordinary for enhancing knowledge management activities. On the other hand, extrinsic motivational factors – mainly, expected organizational rewards such as bonus, salary, job security, and promotion opportunities – were not significantly promoted knowledge sharing. This study supports the non-profit organization's leaders and managers finding ways to boost motivational factors to promote knowledge sharing. Moreover, the study provides empirical insight into the knowledge management-non-profit organizations research domain, which links knowledge sharing and organizational design in the non-profit environment.

Exploring the information practices of lawyers

Purpose

This study examines the information practices of Israeli lawyers highlighting the central role that information plays in professional communities of practice. Examining the information practices of lawyers characterizes the information behavior of this community of practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Information practices are those recurrent practices related to actively seeking information for a variety of sources socially and contextually situated within members of a professional community. Twenty semi-structured interviews were carried out with lawyers in Israel that investigated the different ways by which lawyers interact with information in their professional work. Data collected in the interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.

Findings

Findings from the content analysis of the interviews revealed three main themes: information assimilation, networking and self-promotion and content creation that encompass a wide variety of information practices related to seeking information related to a case, preparing and presenting a case, providing support for the client, collaborating with other members of the professional community and promoting their professional practice.

Originality/value

This study provides an innovating perspective of the ways by which an information-rich community of practice engages with information, solves problems, build social connections and creates new content.

The dance of knowledge management strategies in libraries: The case of the libraries of the Iranian universities of medical science

The success of any organization is highly dependent on choosing the right strategic orientation. The main objectives of the present study were to identify appropriate knowledge management strategies and their subsystems in the libraries of Iranian universities of medical science, and to examine their level of strategic alignment. The study population consisted of 55 managers and 225 librarians working at 33 central libraries in Iranian universities of medical science. In order to carry out the research, two questionnaires were initially designed to collect information about the dominant system strategies and knowledge management subsystems. Then, the means of the sum of the items that were planned for each strategy were calculated, the highest means in each group were considered as the basis for determining the dominant strategy, and the levels of alignment between the different strategies were assessed. The results showed that, with regard to the degree of dynamism, maintaining the status quo was the dominant strategy of the knowledge management system in the selected academic libraries, and with regard to the knowledge acquisition and identification subsystem, passive was the dominant strategy. Externalization was the dominant strategy related to the knowledge creation and transfer subsystem, and static was the dominant strategy related to the knowledge application subsystem. As for the level of alignment between the strategies, the results revealed that the strategic alignment is at an average level. Based on the findings, improving the existing conditions in these libraries requires a transition from traditional knowledge management approaches towards more modern approaches, as well as the selection of optimal implementation strategies for the knowledge management system and subsystems.