Explicit knowledge sharing and perceived organizational performance: evidence from Egypt and the USA

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between explicit knowledge sharing, characterized by organizational communication and technological support and perceived organizational performance in Egypt and the USA. Design/methodology/approach Arabic- and English-language questionnaires were collected from 73 respondents in Egypt and from 67 respondents in the USA, respectively. An independent sample t-test analysis was conducted to compare the significance of the differences between the results of the Egyptian and the US samples. Regression analysis was used to test the contribution of organizational communication and technological support to the explanation of perceived organizational performance. Findings The study’s findings indicated a significant positive relationship between organizational communication and organizational performance, as well as between technological support and organizational performance. The relationship between organizational communication and perceived organizational performance was more robust in the USA than in Egypt. Research limitations/implications This exploratory study investigates the respondents’ subjective perceived organizational performance. Organizational communication is a more significant condition for successful organizational performance in an individualist rather than a collectivist culture. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use the Knowledge Management SECI Processes questionnaire model of the relationship between two dimensions of explicit knowledge sharing and perceived organizational performance in two different cultures, namely, Egypt and the USA.