اشتراک دانش و تغییر سازمانی در مقاطع تحصیلی بالا Knowledge sharing and organizational change in higher education

Introduction Higher education institutions can obtain significant benefits from the use of organizational learning concepts. University managers and academics can apply organizational learning concepts to analyze the external environment, assess organizational capabilities, and develop and implement strategies to enhance institutional effectiveness. Organizational learning practices can assist leaders in developing responses to external accountability pressures, as well as for addressing organizational performance challenges such as student drop-out rates or rising costs (Kezar, 2005; Dill, 1999). Organizational learning can expand the breadth and complexity of organizational mental models, thus enhancing the institution’s capacity for change and innovation (Senge, 2000). The organizational learning capabilities of higher education institutions are, however, a mixed bag of both positive and negative qualities. On the positive side of the ledger, universities possess many knowledge resources that could support organizational learning. These organizations collect extensive amounts of data, and employ academic and professional staff who are skilled in research methods. Higher education institutions espouse learning and knowledge acquisition as primary values, and these organizations use committees and other team-based structures, which can promote knowledge sharing and collective problem solving (Borden and Kezar, 2012). Despite those favorable features, universities are characterized by a large number of barriers to organizational learning. High levels of specialization, structural differentiation, and extensive decentralization can disrupt learning and block the flow of knowledge from one unit to another (Dee and Leišytė, 2016). One of the largest challenges to organizational learning in higher education institutions relates to barriers in the flow of organizational knowledge. Specifically, the knowledge developed by individuals and groups may not connect to learning for the organization as a whole. When knowledge flows are blocked, the knowledge gained in one unit cannot inform or improve practices in other parts of the organization. Kezar (2005) notes that higher education institutions tend to have few mechanisms to foster communication and integration across units; therefore, pockets of knowledge often do not come together. Empirical evidence suggests that universities may, in fact, struggle to foster internal knowledge flows. In a study of 12 innovative universities, Dill (1999) found extensive evidence of external benchmarking and a high level of experimentation with new practices, but almost no evidence of processes and structures designed for internal knowledge transfer. If organizational knowledge flows are compromised, then learning will not move from individuals and groups to the organization as a whole (Crossan et al., 1999). Under those conditions, organizational change will be difficult to carry out, because organizational members will lack a common language and struggle to accumulate a shared knowledge base (Carlile, 2004). Blockages and disruptions in the internal flow of knowledge may be one reason why organizational change initiatives in higher education institutions often fail to produce their intended results (Kezar and Eckel, 2002). While individual academic departments may achieve excellence, the organization as a whole will be limited in its capacity to deal with overarching challenges.