Knowledge Sharing in Financial Institutions to Assist with IT Service
Management: A Thematic Analysis
Cornelius JP Niemand
1a
and Josef Langerman
2b
1
Department of Information and Knowledge Management, School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems,
College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
2
Department of Applied Information Systems, School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems,
College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Keywords: Service Management, Applications, Knowledge, Knowledge Sharing, Financial Institutions.
Abstract: The applications and services provided by financial institutions are important to individuals and economies.
These applications and services are fragile because of service failures that are inherent in technology. The
purpose of this article is to show how knowledge management can mitigate service disruption in financial
institutions. By using bibliometric analysis and a structured literature review based on the PRISMA 2020
guidelines, we identified five major themes that drive knowledge management (KM) practices in information
technology (IT) management in financial institutions. These themes identified are centered on the organiza-
tional environment, the motivation of employees, the people profile for example gender and race, and lastly
the use of technology. By bolstering these KM practices in the IT service management (ITSM) of financial
institutions we hope to shorten the time between system failures and shorten the actual time to repair failures.
Knowledge management in IT management and especially ITSM is under-researched in financial institutions,
and the KM themes identified provide some signposts to improved collaboration and better theorisation.
1 INTRODUCTION
Digital systems go down. The results range from mild
irritation to catastrophic failure. In today's financial
institutions most, interactions are through digital
channels, be that the web, phone, or ATM. Invisible
to the users are all the back-end systems that glue
everything together and integrate the banking
ecosystems of countries and the world (Khiaonarong
et al., 2022; Klee, 2010; Merrouche & Schanz, 2010;
Mishchenko et al., 2022).
It is not only a single financial organization that is
prone to these types of outages but the financial
ecosystem. For example, a system outage at a payment
provider (that could be a bank or non-bank) is
amplified in unexpected ways as the outage at one
provider interacts with other providers as the
technology outage ripples through the payment
ecosystem. In worst-case scenarios, a cascading outage
could cause significant parts of retail payment systems
to shut down and eventually, that could harm the
a
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8582-0328
b
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1984-0205
broader economy (Allen, 2021; Sillito & Kutomi,
2020).
System failures are not only mentioned in
academic literature but also in popular literature.
During black Friday in 2016, one of the payment
providers to the largest online shopping portal in
South Africa had an outage because of a high load.
The payment processing was then passed to another
bank as a fall-back mechanism. The new bank then
had to process its payments, together with the
payments of the original bank which caused a
payment outage at the new bank. Eventually, the
online platform had to shut down until these issues
could be resolved (MyBroadband, 2017). Thousands
of customers of Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and
Lloyds were prevented from accessing their accounts
for eight hours on New Year’s Day 2020 because of
a system outage. The system outages at financial
firms have increased since a series of high-profile
problems at companies like TSB and Visa in 2018.
The UK Treasury also noted that there was an
Niemand, C. and Langerman, J.
Knowledge Sharing in Financial Institutions to Assist with IT Service Management: A Thematic Analysis.
DOI: 10.5220/0012998600003838
In Proceedings of the 16th International Joint Conference on Knowledge Discovery, Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management (IC3K 2024) - Volume 3: KMIS, pages 305-315
ISBN: 978-989-758-716-0; ISSN: 2184-3228
Copyright © 2024 by Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
305
“unacceptable” level of IT failures among banks
(Binham, 2020).
Software and hardware faults are inherent
properties of computer systems. The huge complexity
of software and hardware makes statistical outages
unavoidable. Modern software consists of millions of
lines of code and in many cases reaches a hundred
million lines of code. (Domingos et al., 2021). Even
though software complexity causes issues the main
reason for software failure is change caused by
human error. Sillito et al (2020) report that the major
causes of software outages (in order of frequency) are
deployments (software changes), infrastructure
changes, exceeding scaling limits, and software and
hardware failure. A major theme in their analysis is
that incidents grow in scope as an initial failure
cascades through a system exposing ways systems are
not resilient to failure. (Sillito & Kutomi, 2020).
For clarity, an incident is when a software system
experiences an outage or is degraded in functionality
or performance, and engineers are notified to
investigate and mitigate the problem. The work of the
engineers in this context is seen as incident response.
After the incident is resolved or mitigated a post-
mortem is generally conducted (ISO, 2015; Sillito &
Kutomi, 2020). The ISO 27043 standard divides the
process into pre-incident response, during-incident
response, and post-incident response. (ISO, 2015)
The current process frameworks that guide this in
the financial sector are the IT Infrastructure Library
(ITIL) and to a lesser extent Google’s Site Reliability
Engineering (SRE) framework (Langerman &
Joseph, 2023). ITIL focuses primarily on processes
and SRE on automation to reduce human error
(Axelos, 2020; Beyer et al., 2016).
Both frameworks incorporate aspects of
knowledge management, for example, ITIL 4
advocates for the capturing of knowledge at the
source of an incident. This allows organizations to
build a repository of institutional knowledge that may
be of use for future incident resolution and problem-
solving activities. Unfortunately, the implementation
and use of the core knowledge management
principles as outlined by the frameworks are limited.
In the context of the brief discussion of the
frameworks guiding the financial sector, knowledge
may be regarded as a strategic resource to assist
managers and engineers in decision-making during
the pre-incident, during-incident, and post-incident
response cycle and can help mitigate the effect of an
outage. Knowledge management can enhance the
process of incident management, by ensuring the
availability and accessibility of accurate and reliable
information when required, through effective lesson
learning (Ammirato et al., 2021). Ammirato et al
(2021) and Seneviratne et al (2010) make the case for
the importance of knowledge management during a
disaster. Similarly, the researchers make the case in
this paper for the use of knowledge management
during an IT disaster or system outage. Despite the
critical role of knowledge management in IT service
management that can inform and enable decision-
makers the literature on this is poor. Service
management is addressed in IT journals but only
marginally addressed by the knowledge management
fraternity. A significant exception to this is the work
of Baradari et al. (2023) which focus specifically on
the role of knowledge management in ITIL. ITIL as a
methodology is not specific to any industry but covers
service management across all information
technology industries.
As literature on the overlap between knowledge
management, service management and information
technology is so scant we restricted our literature
survey to that of knowledge management and
information technology in financial services. As
service management is a subset of IT management
(MacLean & Titah, 2023), this broadening makes
sense for this research project.
1.1 Knowledge and the Sharing of
Knowledge
The Merriam–Webster dictionary defines knowledge
as “fact or condition of knowing something with
familiarity gained through experience or association”.
For this research, two types of knowledge may be
identified, i.e., tacit knowledge and explicit
knowledge.
According to Polanyi, (1967) in Khan and Zaman
(2020:2), “Tacit knowledge is embedded in the minds
of people, accumulated during their career through
experience, and is only visible through their
actions…the other type is explicit knowledge which
exists in written or other transferrable form”. Some
examples of explicit knowledge dimension are any
form of knowledge that is in a written form, like
policies, organizational strategies, operating
procedures, vision, and mission statements with
related rules governing them.
It should be noted that capturing and sharing
explicit knowledge is deemed easier than capturing
and sharing tacit knowledge. The capturing of explicit
knowledge usually takes the form of a simplified and
structured approach. The management of the two
types of knowledge results in the concept of
knowledge management.
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Asrar-Ul-Haq & Anwar, 2016; Yeboah, 2023 in
Kim and Hang (2024:1) state that “One essential
element of the knowledge management system is
knowledge sharing.” For this research, knowledge
sharing may be defined as the process of both internal
and external transfer of both tacit and explicit
knowledge for decision-making to ensure the
longevity and profitability of the organization. The
aforementioned is confirmed by Abbas, Hussain,
Hussain, Akram, Shaheen, and Niu (2019:2) stating
that “… knowledge-sharing strategies significantly
influence a firm’s success through their innovative
performance processes.” The aforementioned is
echoed by Darroch and McNaughton (2003) in
Alshwayat et al
. (2021), stating that employing
knowledge-sharing activities in an organization will
create more creativity resulting in better economic
performance, i.e. profitability.
Financial institutions are not exempt from the
current economic climate and thus also be proactive in
their stance to remain competitive in an ever-changing
business environment. According to Abbas, Hussain,
Hussain, Akram, Shaheen, and Niu (2019:2)
“Realizing the importance of knowledge management,
especially knowledge sharing, the banking sector has
initiated the development of knowledge management
(KM) teams in their institution.”
2 METHODOLOGY
The current economic perspective is an economy based
on knowledge, where individual, group, and societal
existence are dependent on the use of and sharing of
knowledge. Within modern-day organizations,
knowledge sharing may be regarded as the new core
capability that can increase the longevity of the
organization as a provider of goods and services.
The main research question focuses on
understanding the themes driving research in
knowledge sharing, specifically in financial
institutions, considering that these institutions and
functions within the institutions are often
characterized by individuals hoarding and not willing
to share what they know.
To this end, the researchers adopted a pragmatic
ontological stance, based on the practical application
of the results of the study to achieve what Sekaran and
Bougie (2013:30) coin as “intelligent practice”.
As stated, pragmatism is the chosen ontological
stance for the study and pragmatism may be attributed
to Charles Sanders Peirce, the nineteenth-century
American mathematician and logician. In an attempt
to understand how researchers come to know, Jacobs
(2010:725) postulates that “Peirce argued for
abduction” as an epistemological assumption.
Reichertz (2014:126-127) points out that the research
activity starts when the researcher realizes that there
is an imbalance between expectation and reality. The
imbalance between expectation and reality can be
described as the “surprise” factor, necessitating the
researcher to de- and re-contextualize data and
understanding about a specific phenomenon, and in
so doing arrive at a new idea about the phenomenon
under investigation.
The premise of this study is based on the fact that
there is an imbalance between organizations’
expected ability to manage knowledge sharing and
the reality thereof. Abductive reasoning as an
epistemological stance therefore makes sense in
terms of this study.
The methodological assumptions focus on the
process of research design. Kelemen and Rumens
(2011) state that “by pragmatism’s theoretical
cornerstone, the pragmatist researcher is most likely
to adopt research practices that will allow him/her to
solve a practical problem efficiently”. From the
epistemological stance of the study, it is evident that
the pragmatist researcher needs to be able to
acknowledge all interactions between knowledge and
action within a specific area of investigation. This
research employed a systematic literature review
approach, which is considered popular in qualitative
research studies. The actual methodology employed
in the review followed the PRISMA 2020 updated
guideline for reporting on systematic reviews
allowing for the reporting of “sufficient detail to
allow users to assess the trustworthiness and
applicability of the review findings (Page et al 202).
The protocol provides clear steps for the
identification, screening, and inclusion of literature as
part of the systematic literature review. Each of the
following main points will be elaborated on:
inclusion and exclusion criteria,
the search strategy,
The data sources, and
the analysis and reporting elements.
2.1 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
The selection criteria identified in this section define
what to include and what to exclude in the review of
the sources. It should be noted that the inclusion and
exclusion criteria aim to identify relevant research that
will answer the main research question as postulated in
section 2. The review was limited to scholarly peer-
reviewed journal articles on the topic of knowledge
sharing in the domain of financial institutions.
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It should be noted that resources in the form of
books, book chapters, and grey literature were not
considered for inclusion in the review.
2.2 The Search Strategy
The identification of keywords and use of Boolean
operators governed the creation of a search string that
was used in searching for relevant sources to include
in the review.
The search string used was:
(("knowledge sharing")) (Title) and (("financial
institution*")) or (("bank*")) or (("financial service
provider*")) (All Fields) and (("information
technolog*")) or ((IT)) or ((system*)) (All Fields).
2.3 The Data Source/s
The search string as identified in section 2.2 was used
to conduct a search for scholarly literature on the
Clarivate Web of Science. The use of Clarivate Web
of Science was deemed suitable for the database is a
multi-disciplinary database covering a variety of
different subjects within a large data range.
2.4 The Analysis and Reporting
Elements
Applying the search string identified in section 2.2
yielded the following results (based on the Prisma
2020 protocol).
Figure 1: The analysis and reporting elements.
A total of 48 scholarly peer-reviewed journal
articles were retrieved utilizing the identified search
string. It should be noted that ten articles were
removed before the screening process. The
researchers did not have full-text access to the
identified articles and were subsequently removed
from the review process.
The resulting sources, i.e. the 38 articles were
screened for inclusion in the review. Of the 38
articles, 14 articles were not deemed to fit into the
review due to a lack of focus on knowledge sharing
in financial institutions. The 14 articles were
subsequently removed from the review.
The resulting 24 articles were downloaded and
stored for further analysis.
2.4.1 Bibliometric Analysis of the Results of
the Systematic Literature Identified
To position and enhance the relevance of the
systematic literature review based on the Prisma 2020
protocol, the researchers conducted a bibliometric
analysis of the results of the sources identified for
inclusion in the review.
As identified in section 2.3, 24 scholarly peer-
reviewed journal articles were identified for inclusion
in the systematic literature review.
The researchers employed Bibliometrix, a
powerful R package designed specifically for
bibliometric analysis of sources. At its core,
Bibliometrix analyzes three types of knowledge
structures in the sources. These include:
conceptual structure
Intellectual structure, and
Social structure.
Because Bibliometrix relies heavily on code
commands a more user-friendly interface, i.e.
Biblioshiny, which is an extension of Bibliometrix
was employed to provide a more visual and
interactive approach to the bibliometric analysis of
the sources. Some of the main results of the
bibliometric analysis are presented below:
Figure 2: Bibliometric overview of sources included in the
review.
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The most important findings from Figure 2 are:
The sources included in the review cover a 10-
year time frame, from 2014-2024
80 authors contributed to the topic at hand
There is an average of 21.96 citations per
article.
The annual scientific production per year during
the said period reached a peak in 2021 with a total of
five units produced. This is evident in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3: Annual scientific production.
The average article citations per year also
followed a similar trend as in Figure 3, with peak
citations in 2019 and 2021. These trends are
illustrated in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Average citations per year.
One of the most important elements to consider in
a bibliometric analysis is the “vehicles” of
dissemination of the research results, i.e. the sources
of publications. The bibliometric analysis of the 24
articles revealed that the top 5 most relevant sources
of publications are:
Journal of Knowledge Management = 6
publications
Employee relations = 2 publications
Journal of Public Affairs = 2 publications
Sustainability = 2 publications
Applied Psychology an International
Review = 1 publication
When considering the countries where the
scientific production originates from, it is interesting
to note that Asia and India are the leaders in
producing research on the topic.
A visual overview of the countries contributing to
the scientific production on the topic is offered in
Figure 5.
Figure 5: Countries' scientific production.
The following section will provide a discussion of
the results of the systematic literature review.
3 ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS
Out of the systematic literature review, five clear
themes emerged. The themes are represented in
Figure 6.
Figure 6: Results of the thematic literature review.
Each of the themes will be described in more
detail to align the themes to answer the main research
question as outlined in section 2.
3.1 Environment
The most prominent theme identified in the literature
review is the creation of a suitable knowledge-sharing
environment in financial institutions.
The driving concepts identified in this theme include
but are not limited to:
organizational attributes
collaboration
trust
rewards
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According to Kim and Hang (2024:2), the major
catalyst for creating an environment fostering
knowledge sharing is the organizational commitment
and support towards creating such an environment for
the staff members. Enwereuzor (2021) in Kim and
Hang (2024:2) furthermore postulates that the
commitment and support from organizational
management be accompanied by elements and
constructs such as diversity, respect, and engagement,
specifically shown and driven by the management of
the organization.
Abbas, Hussain, Hussain, Akram, Shaheen, and
Niu (2019:2) extend the notion of organizational
attributes to the extent that the organization should
become a learning organization resulting in
“…enhance knowledge sharing among employees
within the organizations and empowering business
firms to initiate critical actions and behaviors to gain
the organizational settings to identify the real
situation.”
Gold et al (2001) believe that collaborations
within the organizational environment should
constitute interactions between the staff members of
the organization. The authors furthermore state that
collaboration is the result of open communication
channels, participative activities, and interactions
among the staff members.
This sentiment is echoed by Abbas, Hussain,
Hussain, Akram, Shaheen, and Niu (2019:2) stating
that “…new employees tend to develop relations with
colleagues, creating a channel for knowledge
sharing”
Von Krogh, Nonaka, and Rechsteiner (2012)
believe that although management might create and
facilitate an environment that enables collaboration,
communication, and sharing of ideas, without trust in
this collaborative space staff members will not be
willing to share any knowledge. The lack of trust is
highlighted by other authors including Bock et al.,
2005, who states that a lack of trust in the
organizational environment may be regarded as the
main barrier to knowledge sharing and transfer.
Kim and Hang (2024:10) clearly state that
although monetary and other rewards might not be a
focal point for managers of knowledge, the impact
thereof to stimulate the sharing of knowledge should
not be underestimated.
3.2 Motivation
Motivation in terms of the literature reviewed may be
considered as a descriptive concept, defining
motivation within the construct of knowledge,
knowledge sharing, and the environment. Nguyen
and Malik (2022:1987) state that “motivation
theorists posit that motivation drives employees’
behavior”
The driving concepts identified in this theme
include but are not limited to:
Organizational motivation and strategies
individual motivation
emotional intelligence
Organizational motivation and strategies are
driven by the formulation, implementation, and
management of performance appraisals.
Fong et al (2011) in Gillani, Iqbal, Akram, and
Rasheed (2017:180) believe that the use of
performance appraisals may be regarded as positive
reinforcement to shape the behaviors of the staff
members of the organization. If knowledge sharing is
defined as a key performance area and indicator, can
contribute to staff members' improved performance in
this specific area and contribute to the organizational
environment and culture of sharing of knowledge.
It should be noted that the use of performance
appraisals should be handled with great care and
responsibility. According to Currie and Kerrin,
(2003) in Gillani, Iqbal, Akram, and Rasheed (2017:
180) performance appraisals can hamper and choke
the sharing of knowledge within the organizational
context because there might be conflicts between the
different individuals, and functional departments, and
or sections in the organization.
One way to mitigate the negative impact of
performance appraisals is to ensure that fair feedback
is provided to the staff members thus strengthening
the desired outcomes (Gillani, Iqbal, Akram, and
Rasheed, 2017:180).
Motivation on an individual level is very closely
related to organizational motivation. The literature
reviewed for this research indicates that individual
motivation is influenced and defined by various
intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
When considering the intrinsic factors, it is
important to note that each staff member's intrinsic
motivation will differ based on their frame of
reference, i.e. background. Furthermore, the literature
indicates that intrinsically motivated staff members
are more prone to sharing knowledge for the
satisfaction it brings to the education of others.
Sathitsemakul and Calabrese (2017:81) identified
the following examples of intrinsic factors:
interpersonal trust,
organizational commitment,
and self-efficacy.
In contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic
motivation may be defined when external reasons
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drive an individual to perform a specific task. These
reasons include but are not limited to:
reward in any form,
negative consequences or punishment,
to increase individual self-worth and
importance,
or goal-orientated.
It should, however, be noted that according to
Muqadas et al. (2017) in Kim and Hang (2024:2)
believe that an over-emphasis on rewarding extrinsic
motivation does not necessarily stimulate knowledge-
sharing activities within the organizational context.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) may be regarded as a
very important motivating factor. Sathitsemakul and
Calabrese (2017:82) indicated that emotional
intelligence “…is the ability to perceive emotions and
cognitive processes such as reasoning with emotions,
understanding their meaning, assimilating and
locating relationships between the emotions”.
Research indicates that EI can potentially influence
both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of staff
members. It should be noted that EI has proven to
develop individual motivation which influences
knowledge-sharing behavior Sathitsemakul and
Calabrese (2017:82). Shyh et al., (2006) contend that
EI has the ability and impact to raise the propensity to
share knowledge even if the individual is reluctant to
do so.
3.3 People
Inkpen and Tsang, (2005) state that in essence an
organization and more specifically financial
institutions may be regarded as a social network
where the organizational hierarchy will influence the
social capital, i.e. the staff members. According to the
authors, it is the social capital of the organization that
underpins all knowledge-sharing activities and
exchanges and the communication thereof.
The driving concepts identified in this theme
include but are not limited to:
profile
gender
An interesting observation from the systematic
literature review, reveals a close relationship to
individual staff member profiles and knowledge
sharing. Abbas, Hussain, Hussain, Akram, Shaheen,
and Niu (2019:2) state that “qualifications, work
experience, working relationships, and individual
income might meaningfully impact knowledge
sharing, motivation, and willingness” .
In addition to the initial observations from Abbas
et al (2019), it should also be interesting to note that
staff members with little job experience and staff
members with an established and a “...greater
professional level...” will have a higher propensity
towards knowledge sharing activities.
Although most of the academic literature about
knowledge, knowledge management, and knowledge
sharing perceives that the activity of sharing
knowledge is a gender-neutral activity, research
suggests a negative imbalance towards female
knowledge-sharing activities. According to Colley,
2003; Meelissen and Drent, 2008; Volman et al., 2005
in Nguyen and Malik (2022:1997) this imbalance
may be attributed to assumed higher levels of
technology anxiety among women. This assumed
technological anxiety will impact of perceived
usefulness of knowledge-sharing activities using
knowledge-sharing online platforms in the
organizations resulting in less knowledge being
shared.
3.4 Technology
As alluded to in the introduction, (section 1),
technology, specifically in the financial sector, plays
a mission-critical role in facilitating financial
transactions. The researchers would even state that no
financial transactions in the current hyper-connected
business environment will be possible without the use
of the information technology backbone. The nature
of the review did not focus on specific elements,
specifications, or requirements of technology, but
rather on what basic features or characteristics will
enhance the use of technology for knowledge sharing.
In considering and analyzing the literature from a
financial institution perspective the following main
technological agnostic themes that drive research in
technology were identified:
online platforms
human sensory feedback system
Nguyen and Malik (2022:1986) state that
“…online platforms in an organization refers to using
social networking, intranet, and other platforms to
enhance knowledge sharing via communication and
collaboration.” It should be noted that the online
platforms and integration of applications via the
platforms (for example the Internet) form the
backbone of all interaction and communication in
modern business. Financial institutions are not
exempt from the use of online platforms in every form
or protocol, with more and more emphasis on the
integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an
advanced communication and workflow platform.
The authors contend that the use of AI and AI-
enabled technologies has resulted in a higher level of
management of people, experiences, and talent
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management specifically within the financial sector.
Thus, it may be deduced that AI and the related
technologies on the agnostic platforms are not only
used for knowledge sharing, but without said agnostic
platforms knowledge sharing cannot happen.
An interesting theme emerged from the
systematic literature review on knowledge sharing in
financial institutions, with specific reference to
technology, i.e. the delicate interplay between human
information processing and technology. According to
Chen, Ye, and Huang (2022:1) “Knowledge-sharing
through ICT is a form of computer-mediated
communication (CMC).” Scholl et al., 2020 in Chen,
Ye, and Huang (2022:1) think that the notion of CMC
provides a substantial advantage of communicating
across vast distances but limits the sensory feedback
for humans in this communication process.
According to Freitas-Magalhaes (2020) in Chen,
Ye, and Huang (2022:1) sensory feedback may be
defined as the non-verbal cues that humans add to the
communication process, i.e. facial expressions, body
language, or changes in emotions.
The non-verbal communication cues may be
regarded as an essential part of the knowledge-
sharing process, specifically in the financial sector. A
lack of sensory feedback in this context may leave the
communicating partners with a lack of trust in the
communication process and what is shared in the
communication, i.e. the knowledge that should be
transferred. “Consequently, this situation constrains
knowledge-sharing, leading to poor resilience”.
Chen, Ye, and Huang (2022:3).
A possible solution to the sensory deprivation
issue that is a by-product of the use of current-day
technology, is the incorporation of the notion of a
virtual world, a metaverse, using a combination of
Artificial Reality, Virtual Reality, and Artificial
Intelligence elements.
4 CONCLUSION
Considering the main research problem as discussed
in section 2, i.e. understanding the themes driving
research in knowledge sharing, specifically in
financial institutions, considering that these
institutions and functions within the institutions are
often characterized by individuals hoarding and not
willing to share what they know, the systematic
literature review conducted, yielded the following
main themes, i.e. environment, motivation, people
and technology.
The authors further analyzed each of the main
themes to understand the concepts in each of the
elements and their link to the notion of sharing
knowledge in financial institutions, with specific
emphasis on the use of technology.
The resulting analysis revealed that the concepts
of organizational attributes, collaboration, trust, and
rewards drive the research in terms of the
environment. In summary, the management of
organizations and more specifically the financial
sector should create and maintain an environment that
allows for the alignment of organizational and
personal objectives, while fostering collaboration
between staff members, based on mutual trust. This
environment should be driven by a combination of
both monetary and non-monetary rewards.
The next main theme identified by the researcher
was that of motivation, i.e. what drives an individual
staff member to participate in knowledge-sharing
activities. The main concepts driving the theme of
motivation are organizational motivation and
strategies, individual motivation, and emotional
intelligence.
Motivation may be regarded as one of the
fundamental drivers of knowledge sharing within
financial institutions. Organizations should endeavor
to align organizational objectives with staff member
motivation, both on an intrinsic and extrinsic level.
Extending the notion of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation, the literature revealed that both factors
may be influenced by the individual staff members'
emotional intelligence. It is postulated that individual
staff members with a higher EI will have a greater
propensity to share knowledge within the
organizations with specific reference to the financial
sector, employing highly intellectual capital.
When considering the theme of people in the
analysis of the literature, two interesting concepts in
terms of knowledge sharing in financial institutions
were identified, i.e. profile and gender.
According to the literature, the profile of the
individual staff member within the financial
institution will be a good indicator of the individual’s
willingness to participate in knowledge-sharing
activities. The profile of the individual staff member
refers specifically to the individual’s qualifications,
work experience, working relationships, and
individual income.
Although knowledge sharing is considered a
gender-neutral activity, some research suggests that
there might still be some imbalance in the use of
technology by females to share knowledge.
The final theme identified relates to technology
and its use in financial institutions for knowledge-
sharing purposes. The researcher identified two
concepts that are deemed important considerations in
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driving research in this specific theme, i.e. online
platforms and human sensory feedback systems.
The two concepts, as identified in the literature are
closely related. The online platforms provide the
necessary backbone to support daily activities with a
specific emphasis on communication. Although the
platforms provide and facilitate communication and
connection over great distances, they cannot provide
essential sensory feedback that allows individual staff
members to trust the communication and knowledge-
sharing activity.
Visually the results of the analysis may be
presented in figure 7.
Figure 7: Conclusion of the study.
The constant changes in Information
Technologies and the necessity for managing them
especially in financial institutions, ITSM would
benefit from KM to address the demands of the fourth
industrial revolution.
The following section will provide an overview of
future research directions.
5 FUTURE RESEARCH
DIRECTIONS
The researchers propose that the identified themes be
tested and confirmed in a financial institution. The
test and confirmation should focus on institutions in
both developing and developed countries. The results
of the proposed future research should then be
extrapolated to other sectors and environments.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Ethical clearance for the proposed research was
reviewed by the School of Consumer Intelligence and
Information Systems Research Ethics Committee of
the University of Johannesburg. Ethical clearance
was granted with ethical clearance code
2024SCiiS011, with a rating CODE 01(Approved).
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