Knowledge sharing in public sector organisations A case study of Swedish county councils

This study investigates how Swedish county councils preserve knowledge and\nmanage knowledge sharing within their organisation. The study examines how these\norganisations cope with transferring knowledge among new recruits and employees as\nwell as cope with project knowledge. The study was based on a qualitative research\nmethod with an abductive approach. A literature study was conducted and the\ntheoretical framework covers key terms such as knowledge, knowledge management,\nknowledge management strategies, organisational knowledge and learning,\norganisational culture and leadership, knowledge management process, information\ntechnology, and techniques of knowledge management. A case study was performed\nand eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with open-ended questions. The\ninterviews were conducted with facility managers, consultants, project managers and,\nhead of division. Empirical findings show that when the organisations share\nknowledge to new employees this is most common done through mentorship, working\nin teams, and various introduction programs. In contrast, it also revealed that there are\nno such activities in some cases. Many employees possess years of experience and\nindividual specific knowledge. It has also become more common for people to change\njobs more frequently, which makes it more important to retain knowledge within the\norganisation. The organisations would like to have more contact with other regions.\nUnfortunately, this is an activity that misses out due to lack of time. Finally, it shows\nthat there exists no formal knowledge sharing among projects. It was concluded that\npersonalisation prevails over codification. Generation change is a common problem\nand is well aware of. Knowledge leaves the organisation with employees who are\nleaving. There is often no document management plan and tools are based on each\nperson and project. Collaborate with other regions to some extent, but it is seen as an\narea with great development potential. No systematic process or standard to transfer\nknowledge between projects is present. Informal networks seem to be remarkably\nvaluable for knowledge sharing and a project knowledge database is something that is\nrequested. Two main barriers to knowledge sharing are lack of time and the\nuniqueness of a project. Recommendations suggest that better collaboration with other\nregions should be developed, implementation of lessons learned and knowledge\nsharing system. Finally, develop a unified document management plan and a culture\nthat supports knowledge sharing.\n