Key organizational factors influencing knowledge transfer among healthcare professionals : implications for organizational performance

Abstract

Managing knowledge is considered a key resource for both public and private sector organizations. Effective knowledge transfer among the employees could offer a better platform in public entities to serve their clients in a more innovative and efficient way. In the Maltese context, there has been no study on knowledge transfer in the public sector. This research study attempted to bridge the gap that previous studies in knowledge management have not addressed as yet. It aimed to investigate the role of organizational factors in the success of knowledge transfer in local public hospitals. Based on existing literature, an integrative model explaining the relationship between a number of organizational factors and knowledge transfer was examined and discussed. A structured questionnaire was conducted to collect responses from range healthcare professionals in local public hospitals. After the questionnaire was collected, the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24.0 was used to analyze the research model of this study. The findings indicate that use of informational technology tools, organizational culture, rewards and incentives and incentive systems attributes, learning and development and organizational structure and design are positively and significantly related to knowledge transfer in public hospitals. From all the explanatory variables, it was found that organizational culture was the most influential factor influencing knowledge transfer behaviour among healthcare professionals. On the other hand, organizational leadership and organizational communicating channels had to be removed from the model fit as their contribution was not found to be significant. Management could utilize the findings that emerged from this research study to set priorities for better resource allocation so as to optimize the opportunities available for better knowledge transfer among healthcare professionals. In conclusion, the researcher believes that further research is needed to address governmental sector institutions, where organizational politics dominate a role in hoarding knowledge.