Understanding the enablers and barriers to knowledge sharing among lecturers in Kwara State Polytechnic,Ilorin,Nigeria

Abstract

Problem Statement

The indispensable nature of knowledge as an asset every organisation prioritises has made its sharing important. It has been identified that existing studies have concentrated on knowledge sharing (KS) in universities, libraries and corporations. This gap begs for studies that will report the status of KS in polytechnic education, thus resulting in designing this study to understand the enablers and barriers to KS among lecturers in Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Method

Using descriptive survey design, a self-structured questionnaire was administered to 53 lecturers in the Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT), comprising the departments of Computer Science, Library and Information Science, Mass Communication and Office Technology Management. Data collected was analysed with the IBM SPSS (v25) and presented in tables, frequencies and mean (X̅).

Results

Findings revealed that the respondents strongly share research knowledge (X̅ = 3.38) and scientific knowledge (X̅ = 3.28) through social media (X̅ = 3.33) and conferences/seminars/workshops (X̅ = 3.23). Notably, RSS feeds is less used for KS among the respondents. The technological factors enabling KS include technical support (X̅ = 3.03), availability of ICT tools (X̅ = 2.97) ease-of-use of technologies (X̅ = 2.92) and strong Internet bandwidth (X̅ = 2.72). Also, KS is enabled by personal motivation and trust in others (X̅ = 3.18), confidence in oneself (X̅ = 2.97) and attitudes towards others (X̅ = 2.92). In the same vein, leadership support (X̅ = 2.82), organisational culture (X̅ = 2.77) and reward systems (X̅ = 2.72) enabled KS practices among the respondents, while organisational structure (X̅ = 2.46) is not.

Conclusion

This study concludes by noting a hybrid KS landscape in Kwara State Polytechnic, where traditional and digital channels coexist.