| Reports indicated that misunderstandings exist among leaders, managers, and employees about the knowledge-sharing process between individuals and within the social structure of teams. Organizations that do not implement knowledge management strategies will not remain competitive in the 21st century. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to use Nonaka and Takeuchi's socialization, externalization, internalization, and combination model to explore the organized, continual method of tacit-to-explicit knowledge theory for organizational knowledge creation. Twenty participants, consisting of government-contracting professionals possessing 5 years or less experience and senior employees with 10 years or more experience, shared their lived experiences in semistructured interviews. The central research question addressed the issues, claims, and concerns behind the employees' perceptions regarding knowledge sharing within the contracting division at a Department of Defense organization. Interview data were coded, analyzed, and grouped into 10 primary themes; results indicated that the foundation for supporting the knowledge sharing process consists of implementing a culture of openness and willingness to share from upper management to individual employees and between individual workers. With improvements and attention given to organizational culture and internal changes from upper management and leadership, issues of trust regarding knowledge sharing have the potential to improve. The implications for social change are that employers may promote knowledge management principles to encourage a more competent, successful, and effective work and business environments. |
