The Impact Of Organisational Culture On Innovation And Knowledge Sharing At The Great Zimbabwe University

Abstract

Because of globalisation, a highly complex and unpredictable world of work has emerged, characterised by accelerated digitalisation and intense competition. Organisations cannot afford to operate according to old paradigms; instead, flexibility and organisational change have to take centre stage. The critical ingredients of organisational change are continuous innovation and knowledge sharing. These two variables are enhanced by a conducive organisational culture. Continuous innovation and knowledge sharing have become the linchpin of contemporary organisations, especially universities. Universities are considered to be reservoirs of knowledge where new and existing knowledge should be shared, bringing about continuous innovation for the benefit of society. Universities thus need to create a conducive environment to enable innovation and knowledge sharing. Although numerous studies have focused on the relationship between organisational culture and variables such as innovation and knowledge sharing, universities have largely been excluded from such research. For this reason, the current study investigated the impact of organisational culture on innovation and knowledge sharing at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU). In the Zimbabwean context, policymakers now expect universities to lead the industrialisation and modernisation agenda. A structured questionnaire was administered via the SurveyMonkey platform to a sample of 277 GZU staff members. A total of 195 questionnaires were collected for data analysis, yielding a response rate of 70.39%. The survey included a biographical section followed by sections on organisational culture (based on the Competing Values Framework), innovation (based on Dobni, 2008) and knowledge sharing (based on Jolaee, Md Nor, Khani, & Md Yusoff, 2014). Data were interpreted using descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the relationships between the variables. The results indicated that the university under investigation had a dominant rational/clan cultural orientation. Furthermore, a significant relationship was found between organisational culture and innovation and organisational culture and knowledge sharing. No significant relationship was found between innovation and knowledge sharing. The findings confirmed that the culture profile of the university is imperative for innovation and knowledge sharing to be facilitated. The study proposes that innovation and knowledge sharing can best be realised through the prevalence of the adhocracy culture type. A strategic framework is proposed to the management of GZU to enhance the pervasiveness of these variables. Areas of further research and the limitations of the study are also set out.