Are academic libraries ready for knowledge management?

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of organizational factors, such as the culture of trust, human resources (HR) practice and top management support on librarians’ attitudes towards knowledge sharing (KS), and the degree to which this attitude affects their perceived readiness to adopt knowledge management (KM).

A soft copy of the questionnaire was sent to 217 academic librarians in both public and private universities in Kuwait. A total of 150 valid responses were collected and tested using a structural equation model. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS and LISREL software to verify the research hypotheses.

The study found that apart from HR practices, all the other factors had significant effects on librarians’ attitudes towards KS. In addition, the attitude of librarians towards KS was found to significantly affect the readiness to adopt KM in academic libraries.

Findings should help libraries identify opportunities and barriers to adopting KM. Results indicate that strengthening the affecting factors, such as a culture of trust and top management support, lead to a more positive attitude towards KS and ultimately a better chance of success for any KM initiative that will take place in an academic library.

The primary research contribution is the conceptual model of the effect of the organizational factors of a culture of trust, HR practices and top management support on librarians’ attitudes towards KS, and the degree to which this affects their perceived readiness to adopt KM.