Knowledge sharing and innovation in business organization: A literature review

BACKGROUND: This study is a review of the literature related to the linkage of knowledge sharing and innovation in organizations. This is among the very few studies related to analyzing the extant literature about the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation to reveal the knowledge gaps and recommend future research directions. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this review of literature is to highlight the most essential concepts that may affect knowledge sharing and innovation, as well as to provide a foundation for future research on knowledge sharing and innovation through bibliometric analysis. The study identifies perhaps the most important popular keywords directly related to knowledge sharing and innovation. METHODS: This study systematically reviews papers on knowledge sharing and innovation extracted from the Web of Science. RESULTS: The study identified the five clusters, each comprising a set of closely related concepts of knowledge sharing and innovation. The first cluster was comprised of the concepts directly revealing the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation. This stream of research consists of a well developed of research. The other clusters such as knowledge management, innovation performance, mediation processes underlying the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation also revealed the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation. IMPLICATIONS: This research has a number of theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this study identifies knowledge gaps and new avenues for future research. This study also helps managers and decision makers to identify and examine trends in promoting the linkage between knowledge sharing and innovation.