Influence of Trust on Knowledge Sharing, Empirical Evidence and Managerial Implications

Purpose: This paper is an endeavor to present an account of the influence of trust on knowledge sharing to familiarize managers and practitioners with this essential aspect of knowledge sharing in light of existing literature and empirical evidence. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research is based on the PhD research dissertation of the author and it was conducted through qualitative content analysis of research articles on the subject matter. Findings: In the light of existing literature and available empirical findings, trust has been identified as not only an important, but the most important of the critical factors in sharing knowledge amongst organizational members, since trust reduces the feelings of strangeness and apprehension and enhances confidence of the organizational members to share the knowledge. Implications/Originality/Value: This paper presents some key implications and recommendations for managers and practitioners to realize the significance of trust for knowledge sharing and for creating an organizational working environment characterized by a high level of trust among the organizational members to enable the efficient and effective sharing of knowledge among organizational members.