Knowledge Sharing Culture Among Academic Staff: A Case of Government Universities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was aimed to explore the knowledge sharing culture among academic staff in two higher 
education institutions namely; Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Addis Ababa Science and Technology 
University (AASTU) in Ethiopia. Both quantitative data and qualitative data were collected from academic 
staff and managers, respectively. Observation was conducted to assess the availability of facilities for 
knowledge sharing. The result showed that both academic staff and managers had positive attitude and 
perception towards knowledge sharing. The academic staff had good trust to their colleagues and 
university to share their knowledge. There was no scientifically established platform for knowledge sharing, 
and lack of laboratories and equipment’s were the main constraints that limit knowledge sharing in both 
universities. We found that the management support in creating opportunities for knowledge sharing and 
the rewarding system for knowledge sharer was poor. Intrinsic motivation was significantly higher than 
that of extrinsic motivation. Generally, the study provides valuable information about the knowledge 
sharing culture and practice of AAU and AASTU. We recommend that managers of both universities 
should work to create more enabling knowedlge sharing platform, opportunities and rewarding system 
that can faciltitate knowedlge sharing.