Knowledge sharing among academics in higher education: A systematic literature review and future agenda

• Published in: Educational research review Vol. 42; p. 100573
• Main Authors: Fan, Zhenyu, Beh, Loo-See
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Academics; Higher education institutions; Influencing factors; Knowledge sharing; Literature review; Knowledge sharing; Literature review; Academics; Influencing factors; Higher education institutions
• ISSN: 1747-938X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100573

The current literature on knowledge sharing among academics in higher education institutions is still fragmented and loosely focused. A systematic literature review was conducted to understand how much has been studied on this topic, to map out what are the major factors that influence knowledge sharing, and to make a chart for future research. A total of 50 articles from 2001 to 2021 have been selected and synthesized from an initial identification of 558 articles by employing electronic databases, backward searching, and forward searching. From the findings, three groups of antecedents emerged: individual, organizational, and technological factors. Among all factors, technological factors were understudied compared to individual and organizational factors. Specifically, more efforts have been put into examining the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits of knowledge sharing, organizational culture/climate, and leadership support whereas costs of knowledge sharing, organizational structure, and technology-related factors are rarely discussed. The findings provide implications for management in higher education institutions to design appropriate strategies to promote knowledge sharing among faculty staff. •Knowledge sharing in higher education is a nascent field of study.•Technological factors of knowledge sharing were understudied.•Costs of knowledge sharing were rarely empirically verified.•A lack of consistency in measure of knowledge sharing.