Knowledge Sharing Practices among Crop Researchers at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.

Kahinga, Esther Wanjiku (2014) Knowledge Sharing Practices among Crop Researchers at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute. Masters thesis, University of Nairobi.

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Abstract

This study sought to explore the knowledge sharing practices employed by crop researchers at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). KARI accounts for more than half of both total research spending and agricultural research numbers, and has 11 main research centres strategically spread throughout Kenya. The aim of the study was to study the knowledge sharing practices among KARI crop researchers. To achieve the set objectives, the study sought to identify the extent to which different knowledge sharing methods are used, to find out factors that influence knowledge sharing among the crop researchers, to determine constraints in knowledge sharing among the researchers; and to understand how knowledge sharing at the institute can be improved. The study adopted the social exchange theory to get insights on factors that influence knowledge sharing among researchers at KARI, and adopted a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. The questionnaire was the principal data collection tool. Data were collected from 80 crop researchers drawn from representative eight research centres. The study found the use of seminars, conferences and workshops as the most frequently used methods of knowledge sharing by researchers at KARI. The findings also indicated that the modern methods of knowledge sharing such as blogs, communities of practice, and online discussion forums were rarely used by crop researchers hence making it difficult to achieve vibrancy in the knowledge sharing process at the institute. E-mail and telephone communication were moderately used. With regard to the factors that influence knowledge sharing among researchers, the study found that for majority of the crop researchers, trust determines who they share knowledge with. More than half of the researchers also felt that the rewards offered to encourage knowledge sharing at the institute were not sufficient even though there was good intra-team sharing of knowledge in research teams. The greatest constraints to knowledge sharing at the institute were identified as plagiarism and piracy and hence some of the suggestions to improve knowledge sharing were to address the challenges of plagiarism and piracy in the institute. The study recommends that KARI develops a knowledge sharing strategy that would enhance and broaden knowledge and information sharing among the researchers.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions:	Africana
Depositing User:	NLANDU Ephraim DIKUIZA
Date Deposited:	25 Jul 2016 09:13
Last Modified:	25 Jul 2016 09:19
URI:	http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/1215

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