Information and Knowledge Sharing among IT Professionals in Singapore

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate information and knowledge sharing behaviour of IT managers and professionals in a multinational company in Singapore. It also addressed areas such as information needs for job-related tasks, attitude of the respondents towards information and knowledge sharing, intra- and inter-departmental sharing, preferred communication channels, and barriers to information and knowledge sharing. The study revealed that IT managers and professionals need information about technical, operational, and process-related aspects of their projects. On the whole, the respondents demonstrated a positive attitude towards information and knowledge sharing. However, only limited inter-departmental sharing was observed. The preferred channels for information and knowledge sharing were email, telephone and face-to-face meetings. It was interesting to note that although all the respondents were IT professionals and were expected to be IT savvy, they were seldom using organizational intranet and online collaboration tools for information and knowledge sharing. This paper offers some suggestions for creating awareness about the importance of sharing and developing an environment conducive for information and knowledge sharing.