The mediating role of knowledge tacitness and complexity in the relationship between organizational culture and tacit knowledge sharing, and differentiation between organizational subcultures: A study in a manufacturing firm

This study aims to test a model explaining the effect of organizational culture on tacit knowledge-sharing behavior in an innovation-oriented production company and to identify the differentiations between organizational subcultures. The research model examines the direct effects of organizational culture on tacit knowledge-sharing behavior and its indirect effects through the tacitness and complexity characteristics inherent to knowledge. The study aims to identify organizational subcultures, explain their sources, and identify the differentiations between them. The data used in the research were obtained from large-scale export-oriented innovative manufacturing firm. The findings revealed that organizational culture is directly related to employees' tacit knowledge-sharing behavior and indirectly related through the complexity characteristic of knowledge. The examination aimed at identifying organizational subcultures revealed the presence of different subcultures within the organization. Significant differences between subcultures were found in terms of tacitness and complexity of knowledge and knowledge-sharing behavior. When the research model was tested on subculture groups, the direct and indirect relationships between organizational culture and tacit knowledge-sharing behavior were not significant in one of the organizational subculture clusters. Keywords: Organizational culture, organizational subcultures, tacit knowledge, knowledge complexity, tacit knowledge sharing