An Integrative Literature Review of Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Sustainability

Abstract: Organizations have recognized knowledge sharing as cornerstones of competitive advantage and organizational success. Resource-based view theory asserts that knowledge sharing has been emphasized as a vital enabler of sustainable dynamic adaption and competitive advantage (Gomes & Dahab, 2010). The high level of organizational knowledge sharing helps build a necessary condition to survive and accelerate their ability to respond to changes in organizations.
Sustainability has become a prominent topic as a leading innovation in organizations and even a management paradigm shift (Mohrman & Worley, 2010). The issue of sustainability was first alleged to responding to the decline of the natural resources and its inevitable impact on society and economic growth. More recently, sustainability has become more widely associated with broader challenges, a composite outcome with social, economic, and environmental consequences. However, despite these claimed challenges and widespread adoption in organizational issues, the topic of sustainability in human resource development (HRD) has gone unnoticed and overlooked. Taking strategic approaches of HRD, proactive and system-wide intervention of developing human resources may help and support continuous change in organizations (Garavan, 2007). Furthermore, studies on the relationship between knowledge sharing and sustainability have also been inconclusive. The objective of this literature review is to explore the relationship between knowledge sharing and organizational sustainability, particularly focusing on how coordinating and controlling knowledge sharing behaviors helps build organizational sustainability (Han et al., 2020). Guided by resource-based view, knowledge as intangible, internal, rare, unique and inimitable resources may boost the competitive advantage of the organization and contribute to its sustainability.
Accordingly, this article sheds light on the relationship between knowledge sharing and organizational sustainability through a systematic review of prior literature. Given the complexity and extensive nature of the concept of sustainability, we converged on the intersection between knowledge sharing and sustainability. From the theoretical perspective of resource-based view (Barney, 1996), this review provides logicizing knowledge on the advantageous use of organizational knowledge and outlines future avenues for research. From a practical standpoint, this review identifies the mechanism of successful attainment of organizational sustainability.