Knowledge management for national development: the role of environmental factors in knowledge utilization and sharing by foreign-educated Kenyan returnees

This study aimed to examine the influence of environmental factors in knowledge utilization and sharing by foreign-educated Kenyan returnees. The environmental factors were considered into macro-environmental factors (economic conditions, government policies, and societal attitudes) and micro-environmental factors (organizational culture and colleague relationships). It also examined the role of individual factors in these relationships. A knowledge management framework, Repatriate Knowledge Transfer (RKT) was employed to explain these relationships. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 102 Kenyan returnees who studied abroad. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses in SPSS and the results used to answer five research questions. The study indicates that a better environment is associated with higher levels of knowledge utilization and sharing. Moreover, the study found that returnee factors have a direct impact on knowledge utilization and sharing and also a mediating effect between environmental factors and knowledge utilization and sharing. However, macro-environmental factors did not show a significant effect on knowledge utilization and sharing. The findings contribute to the literature in international higher education, particularly in leveraging societal benefits of international student mobility. It can also inform policies as well as practitioners decisions.