Studying the Relations of Social Capital Factors With Knowledge Sharing: A Case Study at Research Department of Irib

Abstract

The aim of our study was to further develop an understanding of social capital in organizational knowledge sharing. We first developed a measurement tool and then a theoretical framework in which six social capital factors (social interaction ties, trust, identification, norm of reciprocity, openmindedness, and shared language & goals) can have effect on two sides of knowledge sharing; attitude and expectations about knowledge sharing, and quality of knowledge sharing. We surveyed 144 managers and researchers from a research department of IRIB, and then examined their relationships using step-wise multiple regression analysis. We confirm that social interaction ties, trust, norm of reciprocity, and shared language & goals significantly contributed to a person’s attitude and expectations about knowledge sharing, but only shared language and goals directly contributed to quality of knowledge sharing.