knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations: current status in sub-saharan africa
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DOI: 10.1177/0266666914551070
published online 23 September 2014Information DevelopmentPeterson Dewah and Stephen M Mutula
Knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations: Current status in sub-Saharan Africa
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Article
Knowledge retention strategies inpublic sector organizations: Currentstatus in sub-Saharan Africa
Peterson DewahUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal
Stephen M MutulaUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal
AbstractThis article discusses knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. Basedon a survey of empirical and theoretical literature the article addresses the following research questions: Whatorganizational learning activities take place in public sector organizations? What strategies are public sectororganizations using to capture and retain knowledge? What ICT infrastructure is available in public sector orga-nizations for knowledge capturing and sharing? What challenges face public sector organizations in sub-SaharanAfrica in capturing and retaining knowledge? What is the current status of knowledge retention in the publicsector in sub-Saharan Africa? The results reveal that public sector organizations are using various strategiessuch as codification, personalization, training, education, workshops, seminars, storytelling, mentoring andapprenticeship to capture and retain knowledge. The ICT infrastructure available for capturing and retainingknowledge in the public sector includes institutional repositories, emails, global networks databases, portals,accounting and financial systems, human resource systems, knowledge route-maps knowledge networks anddiscussions forums. The challenges for managing knowledge assets in public sector organizations include lim-ited understanding of KM benefits; shortage of skill; lack of incentives or rewards to share knowledge; lack ofappropriate technology; limited commitment from senior management, lack of appropriate models to learnfrom and brain drain. The implementation of e-government initiatives across the continent was starting to insti-tutionalize and promote knowledge management strategies in public sector organizations. The results from thisarticle provide a foundation for knowledge management policy formulation to enhance efficiency and servicedelivery in public agencies.
Keywordsknowledge management, knowledge sharing, knowledge retention, learning organizations, public sector,sub-Saharan Africa
Knowledge management is not given priority in public sector organizations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Introduction
Public sector organizations generate critical organiza-
tional knowledge and also offer knowledge-driven
work processes and practices to enhance productivity.
Knowledge management strategies including knowl-
edge retention can contribute towards corporate gov-
ernance and enhances business interests of public
sector organizations. Arora (2011) defines the term
‘public sector’ as functioning agencies and units at all
the federal, state, country, municipal and local levels
of government. The term is usually used in contradis-
tinction with ‘private sector’, which generally refers
Corresponding author:Peterson Dewah, University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of SocialSciences, Information Studies Programme, Private Bag X01,Scottsville, 3209, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.Email: [email protected]
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to institutions and/or organizations or business
enterprises whose activities are almost wholly financed
through private shareholding or equity. The public sec-
tor usually encompasses the core civil service, state and
quasi-public or state corporations (Mutula and Wamu-
koya, 2009). In the context of this article the term ‘pub-
lic sector’ is adopted from Mutula and Wamukoya
(2009) and is used to refer to institutions and/or organi-
zations under state control that are established to serve
the needs of the general public.
The public sector is characterized by bureaucratic
administrative systems where functions are specia-
lized and assigned to specific offices. This bureau-
cratic tendency, though it encourages transparency,
tends to slow down actions aimed at improving ser-
vice delivery, and also encourages corrupt vices. The
public sector provides services to its citizens through
agencies such as local authorities, parastatals, govern-
ment corporations, the military and government
departments (Arora, 2011). Moore (1995) cited in
Rashman, Withers and Hartley (2009), argues that
public services aim not to produce profit but ‘public
value’ and to impact on citizens. The services pro-
vided to the citizens through the public sector may
vary from one country to another but generally
include education, registration of births, deaths,
national identities, land and agricultural administra-
tion, local governance, immigration, police service,
defence, foreign/international relations, tourism,
government hospitals, industry and trade, national
archives, social welfare, and many more. In provid-
ing these services, the public sector is expected to
adhere to clearly defined rules/regulations and stan-
dardized procedures, which are designed to be
impersonal so as to prevent nepotism, discrimina-
tion, political interference and bias (Khan, 2009).
Organizational learning and knowledgemanagement
The concept of organizational learning has origin in
the knowledge management literature. Many defini-
tions are proffered to explain the meaning of ‘learning
organization’ on one hand, and ‘knowledge manage-
ment’ on the other. Turban et al. (2008) refer to a
learning organization as an organization’s capability
of learning from its past experience, learning from the
best practices of others, and transferring knowledge
quickly and efficiently within the organization.
Turban et al. (2008) further point out that organiza-
tional learning is concerned with the development
of new knowledge and insights and has the potential
to influence organizational behavior. Senge (1990)
defines a learning organization as that which provides
members with energy to keep exploring the world
and adjusting themselves to changes.
Senge (1990) asserts that a learning organization
provides an environment where people continuously
expand their capacity to create results they truly
desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking
are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free,
and where people are continually learning how to
learn together.
The term ‘knowledge management’ originated dur-
ing the 1980s when Porter (1985) coined the concept
of competitive advantage, denoting a way of creating
value for customers and offering them unique prod-
ucts and services. White (2004) points out that knowl-
edge management is a process of creating, storing,
sharing and re-using know-how to enable an organiza-
tion to achieve its goals and objectives. The Organisa-
tion for Economic Cooperation and Development
(2003) sees knowledge management as a broad col-
lection of organizational practices related to generat-
ing, capturing and disseminating know-how and
promoting knowledge sharing, both within an organi-
zation and with the outside world. Knowledge man-
agement therefore focuses on creating new
knowledge, sharing, enhancing and utilizing existing
knowledge to achieve organizational goals.
Both knowledge management and organizational
learning therefore involve one or more of the follow-
ing: capacity building through project teams; assign-
ing staff responsibilities where their talents can be
optimized; creating knowledge databases; institutional
repositories; mentoring; and more (Swan et al. 1999).
Managing knowledge assets in the publicsector
Public sector organizations are knowledge intensive
because they generate a large amount of tacit and
explicit knowledge through meetings, brainstorming
and conversations via tea and lunch breaks, through
emails, phone calls and other forums. Khan (2009)
observes that the public sector is composed of learn-
ing organizations that operate in knowledge groups
of professionals from different public organizations
that share, exchange and create knowledge. Nonaka
and Takeuchi (1985) note that the explicit form of
knowledge is always found in public service systems,
in computers, databases, rules, regulations, memos,
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and procedure manuals. and no organization can exist
without it. In contrast, tacit knowledge can be found
in mental models, beliefs, intuitions, hunches,
insights, values and persuasions that are deep-rooted
in an individual but difficult to express in words.
Rashman, Withers and Hartley (2009) observe that
public sector organizations bear the challenge of staff
discontinuity when transfers, deaths, dismissals, and
right sizing occur.
Tacit and explicit forms of knowledge interface to
produce new knowledge through what Nonaka and
Takeuchi (1985) describe as ‘knowledge conversion’,
by socialization, externalization, combination and
internalization (SECI). Through this cyclic dynamism
new knowledge is created and it is incumbent on an
organization to capture and retain such knowledge.
Effectively managing tacit and explicit knowledge
generated in the public sector is vital because knowl-
edge retention contributes towards corporate govern-
ance and in safeguarding the business interests of
public sector organizations. Moreover, knowledge
sharing is at the centre of governance processes,
mechanisms and institutions through which citizens
and groups articulate their interests, exercise their
legal and human rights, meet their obligations, and
mitigate their differences. Knowledge sharing
enhances administrative accountability, financial and
budgetary accountability, transparency, and openness
in managing public affairs.
Mutula (2006) observes that central governments
cannot function properly if they do not have good
mechanisms with which to share knowledge across
their different units in order to enhance policy-
making and service delivery. Principles of good gov-
ernance such as accountability, transparency, rule of
law and others depend to a large extent on the free flow
and exchange of knowledge within organizations.
Statement of the problem
Rashman et al. (2009), in a systematic review of the
literature on organizational learning and knowledge
management with relevance to public sector organiza-
tions, found that learning within and between organi-
zations and the sharing of knowledge were central to
the processes of public service improvement; yet how
knowledge can be retained is given limited treatment.
They further adduced that public sector organizations
in sub-Saharan Africa are facing challenges of brain
drain with knowledgeable, talented and highly
qualified professionals leaving in search of more
rewarding careers in the private sector and/or
abroad. They concluded that the departure of such
staff often results in the loss of valuable organiza-
tional knowledge.
Dewah (2012), in the context of the South African
Broadcasting Corporation, found that while numerous
appointments were being made, there were ongoing
resignations of skilled and knowledgeable staff. He
noted that similar challenges were reported in Bots-
wana and Zimbabwe. Ondari-Okemwa and Smith
(2009) explored the role that knowledge management
can play to support governance, performance effec-
tiveness, and service delivery in the Kenyan public
sector. What they found was that bureaucracy is
embedded in the Kenya civil service and the few
incentives provided are not suffice to encourage civil
servants to generate, distribute and share knowledge.
Instead, civil servants in Kenya hoard knowledge to
enhance their value and competitiveness. The hoard-
ing suggests that knowledge sharing in sub-Saharan
Africa is a challenge indeed. Vinson (2003) points out
that to truly learn from employees, organizations must
have knowledge sharing programs that facilitate the
learning of their members, acquiring new knowledge
and skills. By so doing the organizations would renew
and continuously transform themselves. Johannessen
et al. (2001) point out that organizational learning
produces organizational knowledge which if retained
gives the organization competitive advantage.
The Ministry of Education (2006) in South Africa,
through the then Minister of Education, Naledi
Pandor, pointed out that the key challenge facing
universities in the country was how to ensure that
higher education simultaneously developed the skills
and innovation necessary for addressing the national
development agenda, as well as for participation in
the global economy. She observed that creativity is
concentrated in a small number of highly talented
individuals, who needed to be nurtured and retained
in the country’s national system of innovation. She
added that there was a need to provide the conditions
in universities in which expertise was nurtured and
encouraged to remain, in order to promote the aims
of the developmental state.
The importance of harnessing knowledge manage-
ment in public sector organizations cannot be over-
estimated; as the foundation of the industrialized
economies has shifted from natural resources to intel-
lectual assets, executives have been compelled to
examine the knowledge underlying their business and
how the knowledge is used. Besides, the rise of
Dewah and Mutula: Knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations 3
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networked computers has made it possible to codify,
store, and share certain kinds of knowledge more eas-
ily and cheaply than ever before (Hansen et al., 1999).
In addition, the pressure of competitiveness and the
incentives to reduce costs are increasing with time
in public sector organizations. The public sector is
also coming under increased pressure to demonstrate
accountability and transparency in the use of public
resources (International Records Management Trust,
2004).
The importance of knowledge retention therefore
need not be laboured, because as Price (2000:7)
asserts, ‘‘most successful organisations are those
which make best use of their employees’’. Cowling
and Mailer (1998:1) observe that ‘‘without competent
manpower, there will be no one to operate these
machines. People are the only resource that can put
financial, physical, and technological resources to
best use.’’ For all these reasons, this article seeks to
assess knowledge retention strategies in public sector
organizations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Research questions
The main research question this article seeks to
address is: What are the knowledge retention strate-
gies applied by public sector organizations in sub-
Saharan Africa? The following specific research
questions are addressed:
1. What organizational learning activities take
place in public sector organizations?
2. What strategies are public sector organizations
using to capture and retain knowledge?
3. What ICT infrastructure is available in public
sector organizations for knowledge capturing
and sharing?
4. What challenges face public sector organiza-
tions in capturing and retaining knowledge?
5. What is the current status of knowledge reten-
tion in the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa?
Theoretical framework and methodology
There are several knowledge management and related
theories relevant to the research problem being
addressed in this article. The research problem is
underpinned by the knowledge management theories
and models. The Organizational Culture, Structure
and Information Technology model developed by
Kim and Lee (2006) examines the knowledge sharing
capabilities among employees in public and private
sector organizations in South Korea. In a study based
on this model, they found that IT applications and
social networks were central to knowledge sharing
activities. They also found that ICT infrastructure
supports knowledge sharing activities and assists
organizations to get work done, and to manage the
knowledge assets of the organization. Besides, the
active use of IT or online systems applications gained
through career development were found to influence
how staff communicated and shared their knowledge.
Thibault and Kelly’s (1952) Social Exchange The-
ory (SET) posits that people strive to interact and
share knowledge when they know that they can get
rewards. Another knowledge management tool, The
Voluntary, Informal and Knowledge Sharing (VIKS)
theory (Lee, Foo, Chaudhry and Hawamdeh, 2004),
addresses activities for knowledge sharing such as
conducting workshops and online database training.
The model points out that knowledge sharing can be
formal or informal. Formal knowledge sharing can
take place in meetings, conferences or conducting
workshops. Informal knowledge sharing, on the other
hand, can happen when staff are sharing a cup of tea
or holding informal meetings during lunch time. Non-
aka and Takeuchi (1995) posit that knowledge can be
communicated via four patterns - interaction, combi-
nation, internalization and externalization. They aver
that knowledge creation is a continuous process which
involves interaction between tacit and explicit knowl-
edge, while socialization represents tacit to tacit com-
munication, which takes place between people in
meetings or in team discussions. Internalization repre-
sents explicit to tacit communication. Combination,
also known as communication, represents explicit to
explicit communication in which the transformation
phase is through meetings and conversations sup-
ported by online systems. Externalization represents
tacit to explicit communication through dialogue, for
example, in brainstorming.
From the theoretical models outlined above, the
key variables relevant to the research problem and the
associated research questions of this article include:
knowledge management activities – knowledge reten-
tion, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, knowl-
edge communication – and knowledge management
infrastructure, such as online systems, social networks
and IT systems.
Methodologically, this article is based on a survey
of empirical and theoretical literature in journals,
online databases, books, conference papers, annual
reports and policy documents.
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Literature review
The empirical and theoretical literature reviewed in
this section strives to address the research questions
already defined above in the sections that follow.
Organizational learning activities in public sectororganizations
Organization learning activities are evident in extant
literature. Oliver (2008) conducted a survey to inves-
tigate the knowledge management practices of orga-
nizations with a quality approach to operations. Data
were collected from a mail survey and findings sug-
gested that organizations with more successful qual-
ity programs have regular briefings and have a
conducive environment where learning from experi-
ence is shared. The study revealed that management
advocated for employees to engage in training activ-
ities through attending seminars. According to Non-
aka and Takeuchi (1995) tacit knowledge transfer in
organizations is through the socialization process,
which is akin to learning by imitation, copying and
on the job training. In contrast, tacit knowledge
acquisition, in the opinion of Wenger (2006), is
linked to Communities of Practice. Chetty and
Mearns (2012) conducted a study to analyse the
impact of communities of practice (CoPs) on build-
ing a learning organization. Using Multichoice
South Africa as a case study, the results revealed that
CoPs can contribute towards creating a learning orga-
nization culture. Among other findings, it emerged that
CoPs are instrumental in creating, acquiring and trans-
ferring knowledge and in modifying the organization’s
behaviour to reflect new knowledge. Sub-Saharan
Africa could leverage CoPs in knowledge creation,
sharing, communication, retention among other knowl-
edge management aspects.
According to Bagshaw (2000), knowledge workers
are actively involved in capability, capturing, codify-
ing, connecting, co-creating and conversion of knowl-
edge. Capability is concerned with having knowledge
and skills, while capturing focuses on knowing where
tacit knowledge is and how to deliver it. Codification
is concerned with making tacit knowledge explicit so
that it can be used throughout the organization. Con-
nection on is concerned with making links to commu-
nities of practice. Networks of knowledge exchange
are more important than traditional communication
structures. Co-creation focuses on using collective
brainpower to give competitive advantage. Finally,
Conversion is concerned with applying the knowl-
edge to add value to decision making processes.
Within organizations, there are basically three
broad objectives of knowledge management,
namely: leveraging the organization’s knowledge;
creating new knowledge or promoting innovation;
and increasing collaboration. These objectives are
aimed at enhancing the skill level of employees
(Arora, 2002:240). Moreover, in organizations that
are knowledge intensive, people engage each other
in workshops and seminars and in the process
knowledge is acquired from within and from out-
side. Such organizations have a learning culture,
which favours the building and development of the
collective organizational memory so that knowl-
edge and competencies of the past are transferred
to new employees across generations of learning
(Pedler et al., 1989; Garvin, 1993). Learning orga-
nizations use learning to reach their goals, and the
benefit of learning is the retention of key personnel
to provide organizational memory (Holbeche,
2005). Jain and Mutula (2008) carried out a litera-
ture survey on libraries as learning organizations
and the implications for knowledge management.
The study recommended that libraries should create
the climate for change and innovation. They further
suggest that libraries should create learning envir-
onments by working collaboratively with other
disciplines.
Within most public and private sector organiza-
tions, the human resources development portfolio has
the responsibility of facilitating knowledge conver-
sion (tacit to explicit) as a way of creating new knowl-
edge, and retaining it as organizational knowledge.
This may be achieved through employee participation
in discussions during workshops or seminars, learn-
ing, teaching, debates and brainstorming among other
activities (Afiouni, 2008). As envisaged by Nonaka
and Takeuchi (1995), individuals can also acquire and
share knowledge during interaction during socializa-
tion activities.
Wagner (2008) identifies three major compo-
nents of knowledge management in organizations:
people who create, share and use knowledge; pro-
cesses that acquire, create, capture, organize, share,
transfer and apply knowledge; and technology that
stores and provides access to knowledge. Activities
in knowledge management include, among others
scanning, document imaging, forms processing,
classification, indexing, categorization or taxon-
omy, backup and recovery, search and retrieval,
Dewah and Mutula: Knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations 5
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publications, archiving, storage, migration, records
management, email management, etc.
Strategies for capturing and retention of knowledge inthe public sector
Hansen et al. (1999), in a study of knowledge man-
agement strategies of companies in several industries,
especially consulting firms, found two major prac-
tices of knowledge management, which they called
respectively codification and personalization. The
codification approach involves information being
carefully codified and stored in databases, where it can
be accessed and used easily by anyone in the company.
Codification involves using a people-to-documents
approach, where knowledge is extracted from the per-
son who developed it, made independent of that person
and reused for various purposes. For example, after
obtaining knowledge from a person, knowledge objects
are developed by extracting key items of knowledge,
such as interview guides, work schedules, benchmark
data and market segmentation analyses out of docu-
ments and storing them in an electronic repository for
other people to use. This allows many people to search
for and retrieve codified knowledge without having to
contact the person who originally developed it. This
approach makes it easy to reuse knowledge, especially
in developing project proposals, thus saving a great
amount of time.
Hansen et al. (1999) assert that a personalization
strategy for knowledge management involves knowl-
edge being closely tied to someone who developed it
and shared mainly through person to person contacts.
This strategy focuses on dialogue between individu-
als, not knowledge objects in a database. In this case,
knowledge that has not been codified is transferred in
brainstorming sessions and one-on-one conversations.
To make this strategy work, heavy investment is made
in building networks of experts. Knowledge is shared,
not only face-to-face, but also through telephone con-
versations, email, via videoconferences, and more.
Networks are developed by transferring people
between offices, by supporting a culture in which con-
sultants are expected to return phone calls from col-
leagues promptly, by creating directories of experts
and by using consulting directors within the firm to
assist project teams.
Firms have been found to focus on codification
and/or personalization strategies and using them in
mutually supportive roles. Hansen et al. (1999) stated
that codification provides high quality, reliable and
fast information systems implementation by reusing
codified knowledge. It invests once in knowledge
assets and reuses them several times. Codification
invests heavily in IT systems while personalization
invests only moderately in IT resources. Codification
is useful where an organization is dealing with similar
problems all the time. Personalization is important in
rapidly changing environments. Most codification
solutions have been proven and are reliable. The codi-
fication approach is cost-effective, especially in reus-
ing software programs. Personalization, on the other
hand, can be very expensive because of high consul-
tant fees that may be involved. Codification enhances
sharing of knowledge, while a personalization strat-
egy relies on tacit knowledge, which is difficult to
share and is time consuming, expensive and slow to
transfer. If a company offers a standardized product
or a mature product, it may benefit from a re-use
model. On the other hand, if a company relies on tacit
knowledge to solve its problems, then the personaliza-
tion model may be appropriate (Hansen et al. 2009,
cited in Mutula and Jacobs, 2010).
Mutula and Jacobs (2010) also cited Kidwell et al.
(2000), who in turn cite Nokia as one company that
uses knowledge management practices to make sense
of market trends and customer requirements and
quickly put that knowledge into action in the product
development pipeline. Nokia Company’s manage-
ment system provides relevant information rapidly
to whoever needs it in the organization. It has a strong
customer focus and service ethic and is innovative in a
highly competitive market.
Nonaka and Takeuchi (1985) observed that organi-
zational knowledge is produced and acquired when
employees interact. Knowledge is also generated and
acquired through interaction processes such as train-
ing, education, workshops, seminars, storytelling,
mentoring and apprenticeship.
To improve company performance and gain com-
petitiveness some organizations adopt employee
downsizing. Schmitt, Borzillo and Probst (2011) con-
ducted a literature survey on companies’ downsizing
initiatives as a strategy of improving organizational
performance. The findings indicate that employee
downsizing often results in loss of critical knowledge,
skills and experience, leading to deteriorating quality,
productivity and effectiveness. Similarly, Dewah’s
(2012) study on knowledge retention strategies at pub-
lic broadcasting corporations in three Southern African
countries of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe,
found that in Zimbabwe the broadcasting corporation
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lost valuable knowledge when it embarked on
downsizing in 2004. Consequently the programmes
and services deteriorated.
Bhatt (2001) identifies five phases of knowledge
management to include knowledge creation, knowl-
edge validation, knowledge presentation, knowledge
distribution, and knowledge application. Knowledge
creation refers to the ability of an organization to
develop novel and useful ideas and solutions through,
for example, repackaging, organizing and interpreting
existing information. Knowledge validation is con-
cerned with the extent to which a firm can reflect
on knowledge and evaluate its effectiveness for the
existing organizational environment. Knowledge pre-
sentation focuses on the way knowledge is displayed
to the organization’s members, in such ways as print,
disks, and optical media. Knowledge distribution
refers to how knowledge is disseminated and shared
throughout the organization by way of interactions
between organizational technologies, techniques and
people. Finally, knowledge application means making
knowledge more active and relevant for the organiza-
tion in terms of creating values, for instance, improv-
ing the design and speed of its microprocessor or
creation of knowledge as multi-media.
Dyer and McDonough (2001) state that the primary
business uses or domains of knowledge manage-
mentinclude: capturing and sharing best practices,
providing training and corporate training, managing
customer relationships, delivering competitive intelli-
gence, providing project workspace, managing legal
and intellectual property, enhancing web publishing,
supply chain management, etc.
ICT infrastructure for knowledge capturing andsharing in public sector organizations
Technology is at the centre of knowledge manage-
ment and helps to retrieve the variety of information
and knowledge embodied in systems, institutional
repositories, books, theses and dissertations, pro-
cesses, strategies, methodologies, emails, patents,
products and services, within and outside organiza-
tions. Such knowledge can be explicit (documented
information expressable in formal shared language)
or tacit (embodied in people’s minds). Kidwell
et al (2000) point out that explicit knowledge is
packaged, easily codified, communicable, and trans-
ferable. Mezher (2007) is of the opinion that ICTs
and global networks have revolutionized learning
and knowledge sharing through communication,
integration, collaborative working, online meetings
and training. Powell (2003) contends that the use
of ICTs in public organizations can greatly expand
the volume and types of potentially useful informa-
tion which can be stored, searched, and easily
accessed and reused.
Averweg (2008) conducted a survey of how an
intranet is used to facilitate knowledge sharing in the
eThekwini Municipality in South Africa. The findings
indicate that the intranet was a useful platform to
share and access interdepartmental information, an
effective way to conduct organizational interaction
and the quickest focal point to disseminate and get
organizational communication. This suggests that
organizations in sub-Saharan Africa could utilize intra-
nets to share knowledge. However, most sub-Saharan
countries are poor and their ICTs are not yet developed.
Mutula and Mooko (2008) contend that Africa has rich
reservoirs of knowledge, but it is not adequately
shared, despite the communal nature of the population.
They further argue that much as radio is an important
ICT tool that could be used effectively to manage and
disseminate local knowledge, it is still not accessible in
the most remote parts of some African countries.
Wagner (2008) points out that within public orga-
nizations, knowledge is embodied in databases,
records, portals, infrastructure, accounting and finan-
cial systems, human resource systems, etc. Similarly,
Corrall (1999) is of the view that organizations that
are knowledge intensive have some or more of the
following knowledge-based resources: knowledge
databases and repositories (explicit knowledge);
knowledge route-maps and directories (tacit and
explicit knowledge); knowledge networks and dis-
cussions (tacit knowledge).
Purani and Nair (2007) are of the opinion that while
developed countries have harnessed their resources
with the growth of knowledge societies, the develop-
ing and least developed countries (to which most sub-
Saharan African countries belong) have lagged
behind. They further argue that lack of adequate tech-
nology as an enabling factor reinforced the barriers to
learning and knowledge sharing, whereas the perva-
siveness of IT today is significant in redefining social
boundaries. While organizations have social media
tools it seems employees are often not aware of the
existence of these tools or the advantages of social
media for sharing knowledge; yet for knowledge shar-
ing culture to thrive, employees need to engage more
with social media tools in their business practices
(Adamovic, Potgieter and Mearns, 2012).
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Challenges facing public sector organizations incapturing and retaining knowledge
Ondari-Okemwa and Smith (2009) are of the view
that most countries in the sub-Saharan region, which
are still bureaucratic and rigid in their operations, are
yet to initiate knowledge management programmes in
their civil services. This could imply that the knowl-
edge management concept is yet to be embraced by
sub-Saharan countries. Milam (2001), citing Dyer and
McDonough (2001), identifies several knowledge
management challenges affecting public sector orga-
nizations, including the lack of understanding of the
benefits of knowledge management, skills in knowl-
edge management techniques, funding for knowledge
management, incentives or rewards for sharing,
appropriate technology, and commitment from senior
management. Other challenges are employees having
no time for knowledge management and a culture that
fails to encourage sharing. Kidwell et al. (2000), cited
in Mutula and Jacobs (2010), explain that relying on
the institutional knowledge of some staff with specific
expertise and knowledge may hamper the flexibility
and responsiveness of any organization. The chal-
lenge of converting the information and the knowl-
edge of those individuals and making it widely and
easily available to any faculty member, staff person
or constituent must be addressed. Tiamiyu and Aina
(2008), citing Shibanda and Musisi-Edebe (2000),
itemise high poverty rates, low literacy rates, very
limited Internet connectivity, technically inefficient
public institutions, stagnant and declining economic
growth and devastating humanitarian crises as chal-
lenging features of African countries in relation to
information and knowledge management. Despite the
availability of the Internet in public places, libraries,
Internet cafes, hotels, smartphones and others, access
remains affected by irregular or non-existent electric-
ity supplies as well as serious constraints due to high
costs (Tiamiyu and Aina, 2008). Organizations could
utilize mobile phones for knowledge transfer and
sharing. Kyobe and Shongwe’s (2011) study revealed
that mobile phones reduce knowledge transfer
barriers.
Yet another challenge to knowledge sharing could
be trust among employees. Using a sample of South
African companies, Lottering and Dick (2012) inves-
tigated the theoretical status of the knowledge seeking
process in extant knowledge management models and
frameworks. The results indicate that knowledge
seeking and sharing are human-centric actions and
that knowledge seeking uses trust and loyalty as its
basis.
Cultural differences also impact on knowledge
management in sub-Saharan Africa. Finestone and
Snyman (2005) carried out an exploratory study of
knowledge management practices in South African
companies. As a pilot study, the results revealed that
companies were afraid to acknowledge cultural differ-
ences because of major cultural sensitivity. They rec-
ommended that knowledge managers and top
management must create a cooperative knowledge
sharing environment in which South Africa’s diverse
cultures can interact, learn from one another and inno-
vate. Similarly Jacobs and Roodt (2011) conducted a
study to determine the relationships between organi-
zational culture, knowledge sharing and turnover
intentions in order to suggest a retention strategy. A
sample of 530 professional nurses in private and pub-
lic provincial hospitals in South Africa participated in
the study. The results revealed a positive correlation
between organizational culture and knowledge shar-
ing, but a significant negative correlation between
culture and turnover intentions.
Hansen et al. (1999), cited in Mutula and Jacobs
(2009), point out that since knowledge management
is so young, executives have lacked successful models
that they could use as guides. Most knowledge man-
agement systems are inadequately developed or out-
rightly lack human resources, infrastructure, finance,
relevant content, and technologies. Leonard (1999)
noted that challenges in knowledge management
relate to the difficulty of handling knowledge in dif-
ferent formats, issues relating to protection of intel-
lectual property, patent processing, confidentiality
protection, dealing with intangible products and
auditing intellectual capital that involves establishing
its existence, its ownership and its value. Other chal-
lenges of knowledge management, according to
Storey and Quintas (2001), relate to the difficulties
of winning trust, motivation and commitment of sta-
keholders, managing workers who are not conven-
tional employees such as contract workers and
consultants, reliance on knowledge workers who may
leave the organization without their knowledge hav-
ing been captured, vulnerability of Web-based sys-
tems and other technology infrastructure, replication
or copying, and piracy. In a study to identify barriers
to tacit knowledge retention that could cause knowl-
edge loss in South African government organizations
Bessick and Naicker (2013) found that poor salaries
influence IT professionals to find jobs elsewhere,
8 Information Development
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which prevents core knowledge from being retained
within an organization. Knowledge mobility due to
labour attrition seems to be a permanent phenomenon
in sub-Saharan Africa as professionals seek greener
pastures to fend for their families.
Strategies for enhancing knowledge retention inpublic sector organizations
Several sources (Senge, 1993; Brandt, 2003, Associa-
tion of College & Research Libraries, 2007) note the
skills and competencies that should characterize pro-
fessionals working in a learning organization, includ-
ing academic libraries. These include: team skills,
public relations and communication skills, ability to
think in terms of the enterprise (strategically), crea-
tive thinking, use of new technology and information
tools, ability to train and educate the client effec-
tively, customer oriented skills, and the capability of
working effectively in partnership with stakeholders.
Giesecke and McNeil (2004) suggest a number of
strategies to change culture, vision and objectives to
become a learning organization. These include: com-
mitment to change; connecting learning with the orga-
nization’s operations; assessing organizational
capacity; communicating the vision; modelling a
commitment to learning; cutting bureaucracy and
streamlining structures; capturing learning and shar-
ing knowledge; rewarding learning; learning more
about learning organizations; and continuously adapt-
ing and improving learning. They further point out
that a commitment to change is driven from the top,
with all staff members expected to reframe their
thinking with a positive attitude, having a clear vision,
and adapting to change when necessary. Giesecke and
McNeil (2004) remind us that learning organizations
flourish only when knowledge is shared, so that staff
can benefit both from individual and team learning.
Kidwell et al. (2000) point out that as organizations
contemplate adopting knowledge management
approaches, they must, among other things: start with
strategy and determine what they wish to accomplish
with knowledge management; avail human resources,
financial resources and information technology to
support knowledge management; seek a high-level
champion who can advocate for knowledge manage-
ment as needed; select pilot projects for knowledge
management with high impact and low risk on
the organization; develop a detailed action plan for
the pilot that defines the process, the IT infrastructure,
roles and incentives of the project team; and, after the
pilot, assess results and refine the action plan.
Mutula and Jacobs (2009) are of the view that the
public sector needs to undertake business process
reengineering, nurture a knowledge management cul-
ture, and redevelop content in the form of portals,
websites, intelligent agents, etc. Building a culture
of sharing would involve buy-in by customers to the
tenets of knowledge management. Moreover, knowl-
edge management must be integrated with the exist-
ing strategic direction so that the core competencies
and employee capabilities can be transformed and the
performance of the organization improved. Addition-
ally, a knowledge audit is needed before implement-
ing knowledge management approaches. Such an
audit would facilitate finding, analysis, interpretation,
and reporting of an organization’s information and
knowledge policies, its knowledge structure and
knowledge flow (Hylton, 2002).
The purpose of a knowledge management audit is
to determine existing knowledge, gaps in existing
knowledge or knowledge flow in the organization,
followed by developing a knowledge map. Knowl-
edge management can also be enhanced in organiza-
tions by motivating staff, so as to retain their skills
and avoid depletion of the talent pool. Organizations
can offer the security of long term employment to
minimize high staff turnover and costs of knowledge
maintenance (Leonard, 1999). Efforts should also be
made to develop a recruitment policy that emphasizes
skills, mentorship systems, a knowledge sharing cul-
ture and improving infrastructure, such as access to
well equipped libraries, access to the Internet and
electronic journals (University of Botswana, 2006).
Oosterlinck (n.d.) makes proposals as to how public
sector organizations can improve knowledge manage-
ment practices, including: drafting a mission statement
that incorporates knowledge management; creating
awareness concerning the responsibility and account-
ability of the organization’s members towards their sta-
keholders; and increasing international openness.
Knowledge management in the publicsector in sub-Saharan Africa
Knowledge management does not seem to resonate as
a key priority with the leadership of public sector
organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, as evidenced
by the lack of enabling policies to promote knowledge
sharing and retention. Ngulube (2007) laments that
while governments, especially in the developed
Dewah and Mutula: Knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations 9
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countries, have abandoned bureaucratic systems that
hamper effective public service delivery, countries
in sub-Saharan Africa have not yet adequately
restructured public bureaucracies in response to the
demands of the knowledge economy. Mutula and
Wamukoya (2009), citing Wimmer (2001), point out
that, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the benefits
of knowledge management are not yet widely under-
stood or appreciated by governments, in spite of the
fact that knowledge has emerged as the most impor-
tant capital in the 21st century. Ondari-Okemwa and
Smith (2009) also point out that most countries in the
region are yet to adopt knowledge management stra-
tegies on a large scale. Mannie, Niekerk and Adendorf
(2013) conducted a study to validate the significant
factors that influence the effectiveness of knowledge
management between government agencies in South
Africa. The study revealed that organizational culture,
learning organization, collaboration, subject matter
experts and trust are determinants for knowledge
management.
Public sector organizations in sub-Saharan Africa
face several challenges to knowledge management
in general and knowledge retention in particular.
These include, but are not limited to (Mutula and
Wamukoya, 2009): inadequate infrastructure; high
government tariffs; low digital literacy levels and lim-
ited skills; lack of awareness; inadequate funding; the
digital divide; poverty; and absence of enabling legal
frameworks and information policies. Besides, the
brain drain has resulted in a massive net outflow of
intellectual capital and the consequent need for tech-
nologies and methodologies that would facilitate
retention of knowledge assets within organizations
beyond a person’s physical departure.
Infrastructure remains one of the major prerequi-
sites for the deployment of effective knowledge man-
agement infrastructure. It is also one of the most
important parameters of growth and development in
any sector, including the public sector. Ondari-
Okemwa (2011a) observed that institutions of higher
learning in sub-Saharan Africa face challenges such
as poor infrastructure, declining budgetary alloca-
tions, brain drain and competition in knowledge pro-
duction, while they can play a major role in producing
knowledge and contributing to economic develop-
ment in the region. The United Nations Division for
Public Economics and Public Administration
(UNDPEPA) (2002) points out that due to gaps in
infrastructure, human resources and policy, large seg-
ments of the population in sub-Saharan Africa,
representing potential users of computers and other
information resources, are excluded. Ngulube (2007)
points out that despite the important role played by
ICT in corporate governance, sub-Saharan Africa has
not shown full commitment towards improving ICT
infrastructure in transforming government processes.
This view is affirmed by Ha, Okigbo and Igboaka
(2008), who observe that even if technology is avail-
able, a sound policy and effective implementation
program must be in place to utilize the technology.
Similarly, Mnjama, Wamukoya and Mutula (2008)
aver that harnessing knowledge management through
e-government in sub-Saharan Africa is being under-
mined by less developed data systems, legal, institu-
tional, human and technological infrastructures,
among other factors. They further point out that most
African countries still lag behind their counterparts in
the developed world in the computing and telecom-
munications infrastructure that is central in the knowl-
edge economy. Ondari-Okemwa (2004) observed that
computers and telephone lines, which make commu-
nication possible and easy, are in short supply in the
sub-Saharan African region. This situation is not
made any better by the fact that the public sector in
sub-Saharan Africa has always lagged behind in the
automation of its functions for the purposes of infor-
mation management, yet ICTs are a major player in
facilitating knowledge creation and the setting up of
virtual communities for generating and exchanging
new knowledge (Khan, 2009).
Wato (2005), in a study on ICT infrastructure
development in East and Southern Africa, found that
while Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa,
Mozambique and Zambia could be rated as having
moderate infrastructure, Zanzibar and Swaziland had
low levels. The findings also revealed that the distri-
bution of electricity and telecommunications services
across the region was erratic, further undermining
ICT deployment in the public sector. Moreover, most
technology infrastructure was concentrated in urban
areas, thus exacerbating the digital divide between
urban and rural populations. Mutula (2003) points out
that the digital divide has continued to widen in sub-
Saharan Africa because of the region’s unique chal-
lenges, including: lack of awareness of ICTs; poor tel-
ecommunications infrastructure characterized by
inadequate bandwidth and low quality services; and
lack of policy frameworks and information policies.
In a study of the application of broadband Internet
technology for creating and disseminating agricul-
tural knowledge in Nigeria, Ha, Okigbo and Igboaka
10 Information Development
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(2008) argue that the Internet facilitates searching for
information and helps to reduce the knowledge gap
between the industrialized countries and Africa, and
is the most efficient technology to facilitate the cre-
ation and transmission of knowledge in Africa. The
study revealed, besides problems of Internet connec-
tivity, knowledge sharing in sub-Saharan Africa is
hindered by frequent electricity outage and occasional
breakdown of computers, causing irregular service
availability. Stafford and Mearns (2009) investigated
the use of online social networking tools in promoting
knowledge sharing in IBM Global Business Services
in South Africa. The findings indicated that social net-
working tools were effective and that the IBM man-
agement team encourages employees to make more
use of the tools for knowledge sharing and knowledge
creation. Olatokun and Elueze (2013) conducted a
field survey in Ibadan, Nigeria to examine the factors
that affect lawyers’ attitudes to knowledge sharing,
and their knowledge sharing behaviour. The study
revealed that the level of IT usage significantly
affected the knowledge sharing behaviour of lawyers.
This suggests that while sharing knowledge among
people in the same sub-Saharan country is a serious
challenge, sharing knowledge between countries is
likely to be a mammoth task in sub-Saharan Africa.
Jain (2006) investigated knowledge management
practices in 20 university libraries in East and South-
ern Africa. From the findings it emerged that not
much has been done in Africa to explore knowledge
management practices in university libraries. The
study made several recommendations to facilitate
knowledge management practices in East and South-
ern African countries. Ondari-Okemwa (2011b)
argued that organizations in sub-Saharan Africa are
yet to embrace the strategic importance of intangible
assets for the purposes of value creation and enhan-
cing innovation. While the flow of ideas brings spe-
cial advantages to places that have strong capacity
to absorb ideas and create new knowledge, countries
in the sub-Saharan Africa region are not known to
have high absorptive capacities to absorb ideas and
talent from elsewhere to create knowledge and oppor-
tunities (Ondari-Okemwa 2011). This seems to sug-
gest that knowledge creation, sharing and retention
among sub-Saharan African countries is minimal.
In a study on knowledge production through colla-
borative research in 15 sub-Saharan Africa countries,
Onyancha and Maluleka (2011) found that knowl-
edge production and sharing in the public sector was
minimal. However, some countries engaged in joint
knowledge production based on their geographic
proximity. For instance, South Africa collaborates
with Botswana and Zimbabwe in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) region, while
Kenya collaborates with Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and
Ethiopia in the East African Community. The same
applies to Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon in the Eco-
nomic Community Of West African States (ECO-
WAS) region. Mutula and Moahi (2008) also noted
information sharing initiatives based on regional
groupings. For instance in the SADC bloc, Namibia,
Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia collaborate in
research, promoting ICTs as well as harmonizing some
rules. In the East African Community, the member
states work collaboratively to enhance their participa-
tion in the information society. Similarly within ECO-
WAS, the members address challenges of building the
information society at the regional level (Mutula and
Moahi, 2008)
Using a literature review and semi structured inter-
views, Moumouni and Labarthe (2012) analysed the
process of institutionalizing agricultural knowledge
sharing in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. The
study was based in Benin. The findings revealed that
training, visit systems and workshops organized to
promote knowledge sharing among stakeholders were
too expensive to be sustainable. Equally disturbing
was the failure of stakeholders to participate in knowl-
edge production and sharing. Another study by
Wamundila and Ngulube (2011) investigated how
knowledge retention may be enhanced at the Univer-
sity of Zambia (UNZA). Their findings indicated that
training and development aimed at the acquisition of
job-specific knowledge at UNZA was inadequate,
while succession planning, coaching and mentorship
were lacking.
The findings of these studies suggest that knowl-
edge retention strategies are lacking in the public sec-
tor in sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and
visionary governments recognize that for public insti-
tutions to function effectively, considerable reform
and capacity building are required to strengthen
administrative/civil services and participatory deci-
sion making (United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa, 2004). Throughout sub-Saharan Africa,
countries are implementing e-government projects.
In this regard they are involved in knowledge genera-
tion and sharing even if they are not aware of it. The
South African public sector provides leadership in
knowledge generation in sub-Saharan Africa. For
Dewah and Mutula: Knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations 11
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instance, the country’s Human Sciences Research
Council (HSRC) and National Research Foundation,
established by government, enhance knowledge gener-
ation through building research teams, facilitating mul-
tidisciplinary and problem-solving research which cuts
across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, pro-
moting knowledge diffusion and dissemination and
linking academics and researchers with industry, gov-
ernment and civil society. Besides, the government of
South Africa has taken steps to regulate intellectual
property issues to promote knowledge generation,
especially with regard to indigenous knowledge sys-
tems and biodiversity resources.
Conclusion
This article aimed at assessing knowledge retention
strategies in public sector organizations in sub-
Saharan Africa. It sought to address the following
research questions through a survey of the empirical
and theoretical literature: What organizational learning
activities take place in public sector organizations?
What strategies are public sector organizations using
to capture and retain knowledge? What ICT infra-
structure is available in public sector organizations
for knowledge capturing and sharing? What chal-
lenges do public sector organizations face in captur-
ing and retaining knowledge? What is the current
status of knowledge retention in the public sector
in sub-Saharan Africa?
This study was underpinned by knowledge man-
agement theories. The results revealed the activities
of a learning organization to include personalization,
capability, and capturing, codification, connection,
co-creation and conversion of knowledge. Public
sector organizations in sub-Saharan Africa are cap-
turing and retaining knowledge through training,
education, workshops, seminars, storytelling, men-
toring and apprenticeship. The ICT infrastructure
available for capturing and retaining knowledge was
found to include institutional repositories, emails, glo-
bal network databases, portals, accounting and financial
systems, human resource systems, knowledge route-
maps, knowledge networks and discussions forums.
The challenges facing the public sector in knowl-
edge management include limited understanding of its
benefits, shortage of skills, lack of incentives or
rewards, lack of appropriate technology, limited com-
mitment from senior management, lack of appropriate
models and brain drain. Knowledge management is
not given priority in public sector organizations, as
evidenced by lack of enabling policies, poor ICT
infrastructure and limited adoption of knowledge
management strategies on a large scale. However,
through e-government and individual country initia-
tives, knowledge management strategies are slowly
starting to be seen.
The results on the whole provide a foundation for
the formulation of knowledge management policies
to enhance efficiency and service delivery in public
agencies. The article adds to the growing literature
on knowledge management in general and addresses
gaps in knowledge retention from the perspective of
sub-Saharan African public sector organizations in
particular.
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About the authors
Peterson Dewah is a postdoctoral fellow in the Informa-
tion Studies Department at the University of KwaZulu-
Natal, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Knowledge
Management from the University of Fort Hare. His research
interests are in records management, archives management,
knowledge management, indigenous knowledge systems and
ethics in information management. Contact: University of
KwaZulu-Natal, School of Social Sciences, Information
Studies Programme, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, Pie-
termaritzburg, South Africa. Email: [email protected]
Stephen Mutula is a professor in the Information Studies
Department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He has
served in various portfolios and taught in a number of uni-
versities before joining UKZN. His research interests are in
Knowledge management, library science, ethics in infor-
mation science, e-government, ICTs in information sci-
ence. Contact: University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of
Social Sciences, Information Studies Programme, Private
Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, Pietermaritzburg, South
Africa. Email: [email protected]
Dewah and Mutula: Knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations 15
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