Investigating the influencing factors on knowledge sharing in cooperative inter-organizational relations, Case Study: Student Social Care System

Inter-organizational knowledge sharing is crucial for the scientific, social, and economic development of societies. Knowledge sharing processes and systems are challenged not only by individual and organizational factors but also by social, technical, and political inter-organizational contributors. The majority of existing researches have focused on situations such as interactive supply chains, virtual organizations, and multinational organizations, so that it can be said that Inter-organizational knowledge sharing is neglected in collaborative processes. This paper examines inter-organizational knowledge sharing in a collaborative project in which independent public organizations work together for providing social care for students. This research aims to investigate the impact of the variables of knowledge worker, peers, inter-organizational knowledge-sharing system, organization, and coalition on sharing knowledge in multiple inter-organizational relationships. This quantitative correlational study employed a 44-item questionnaire, which was distributed among the system users in Alborz province. The sample size was calculated using Cochran’s formula, and for sampling, proportional stratified sampling method was used. The SmartPLS3 software was used to develop a confirmatory factor analysis model and structural equations, while SPSS software was employed for descriptive statistical tests. In this study, the impact of the knowledge worker, peers, sharing system, organization, and coalition on knowledge sharing via interorganizational knowledge sharing systems was confirmed, among which the variables of the knowledge worker and peers exerted the greatest impact on knowledge sharing which shows the main priorities of managers to improve knowledge transfer functions in this system.