A Critical Analysis of Key Factors Influencing Knowledge Sharing Processes: A Case Study of Bahrain Public Security Forces Abdulrahman M. Bahar A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of Liverpool John Moores University for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2018 DECLARATION I hereby declare that no portion of this work has been submitted in support of an application for any other degree or qualification at this or any other university or institution of learning. In addition, I hereby confirm that, this thesis is solely my work and all work of others cited in this thesis have been acknowledged. Signed: Abdulrahman Bahar i DEDICATION I Dedicate this Thesis To the Souls of my Father and Mother. Your passion, understanding, love and unshakable faith in me were a constant source of my strength. May Allah Almighty have a mercy on you and grant you the highest place in Jannah. Ameen. To my beloved wife, for her patience, compassion and willingness to be there for me at all the times. She provided me the strength, support and engorgement, which helped me to accomplish the intimidating task. To my Sons (Mohamed, Khaled, Ghanim, Nasser and Faisal) and my sweet daughter (Sara). This research project would not be possible without remarkable help and support from you. I love you all from the bottom of my heart, may you all grow up to be successful and prosperous in this world and the next. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In The Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful First and foremost, I am unendingly thankful to Almighty Allah, who gave me the will, wisdom and ability to complete this project. I would like to acknowledge that completing this thesis would not be possible without remarkable help and support from many individuals. Firstly, I would like to express my special thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa (Minister of Interior-Bahrain). I would also like to acknowledge the support and encouragement provided by His Excellency Mr. Ali Bin Mohamed Alromaihi (Minister of Information-Bahrain). Moreover, I am grateful to Public Security Officers for their participation in the research. I would like to extend my utmost gratitude and appreciation to my supervisory team; particularly, Dr Scott Foster and Dr Muhammad Kamran Nawaz for their valuable feedback. I owe them a big appreciation with deepest gratitude for their spectacular supervision, patience, constant encouragement and guidance. Without their continuous optimism concerning, this study would hardly have been completed. Finally, I would like to thank all faculty members and administrative staff particularly, Ms Bernie Hobbs for their professional support during the entire period of my research. Abdulrahman iii ABSTRACT In these times of globalisation, knowledge is viewed as a source of competitive advantage and knowledge sharing (KS) as a characteristic of organisational success. In particular, KS has become a key factor for public organisations, which are searching for appropriate ways to manage and use their knowledge efficiently and effectively. This study contributes to the limited research base on knowledge sharing in public sector organisations, particularly police forces, and organisations in the Gulf region through an empirical investigation into the factors that influence knowledge sharing processes (Knowledge Donating and Knowledge Collecting) in the Bahrain Public Security Forces (BPSF). In order to achieve the research objectives, prior studies, relevant literature and theories were reviewed which led to the development of a theoretical framework and set of hypotheses that were used to test the influence of the proposed factors on KS processes. For this purpose, a quantitative approach using a questionnaire-based survey was conducted within the BPSF. Responses from 312 BPSF officers were analysed using sophisticated statistical techniques and software. Initially, Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 24) was used to analyse demographic variables and exploratory factor analysis. Later, analysis of moment structure (AMOS 24) was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) in order to evaluate the model fit of the study and to test the hypothesised relationships. The results revealed that most factors showed a statistically significant relationship with KS processes. In terms of knowledge donating (KD), organisational structure centralisation (SC), personal benefit (PB) and organisational structure formulisation showed the most significant and positive relationships. However, reciprocity (RC) and rewards (RW) were found to have an insignificant relationship with KD. On the other hand, in the case of knowledge collecting (KC), the results revealed that social interaction (SI), organisational structure centralisation (SC) and rewards (RW) had a significant positive association with KC whereas RC did not show any statistical relationship with KC. This study will contribute to the literature on knowledge sharing in public organisations, particularly for the Gulf countries such as Bahrain, and will assist the public sector managers to develop a knowledge sharing culture within their organisations. Moreover, this study contributes to the knowledge through developing and testing a new model that portrays factors affecting KS processes. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1 1.3.1 Bahrain Public Security Forces (BPSF) ......................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................... 15 2.2.1 Types of Knowledge .................................................................... 20 2.3.1 Knowledge Management within the Public Sector ....................... 27 2.3.2 Knowledge Management within the Police Force ........................ 29 2.6.1 The Theory of Reasoned Action .................................................. 36 2.6.2 The Social Network Analysis ....................................................... 38 v 2.6.3 The Social Capital Theory ........................................................... 38 2.6.4 The Social Exchange Theory ....................................................... 40 2.6.5 The Social Cognitive Theory ........................................................ 41 2.9.1 Knowledge Sharing in Public Sector Organisations ..................... 47 2.9.2 Knowledge Sharing in Police Organisations ................................ 50 2.10.1 Knowledge Donating .................................................................. 54 2.10.2 Knowledge Collecting ................................................................ 54 2.12.1 Rewards..................................................................................... 62 2.12.2 Organisational Support .............................................................. 64 2.12.3 Organisational Structure/Centralisation ..................................... 65 2.12.4 Organisational Structure/Formalisation ...................................... 68 2.13.1 Reciprocity ................................................................................. 70 2.13.2 Trust .......................................................................................... 71 2.13.3 Social Interaction ....................................................................... 75 2.13.4 Personal Benefits ....................................................................... 79 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ..................... 84 3.6.1 Research Survey ......................................................................... 98 3.6.2 Sampling .................................................................................... 100 3.6.3 Research Population ................................................................. 102 vi 3.6.4 Research Sample Size .............................................................. 102 3.7.1 Questionnaire Layout ................................................................. 108 3.7.2 Questionnaire Translation .......................................................... 112 3.7.3 Validity and Reliability of the Questionnaire ............................... 114 3.7.4 Questionnaire Administration ..................................................... 118 3.7.5 Questionnaire Data Analysis Strategy ....................................... 120 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ................... 129 4.2.1 Data Screening .......................................................................... 131 4.2.2 Missing Data .............................................................................. 131 4.2.3 Outliers ...................................................................................... 132 4.2.4 Reliability ................................................................................... 134 4.2.5 Normality ................................................................................... 135 4.3.1 Respondents’ Gender ................................................................ 137 4.3.2 Respondents’ Work Experience in the BPSF............................. 138 4.3.3 Respondents’ Age ..................................................................... 138 4.3.4 Respondents’ Qualifications ...................................................... 139 4.3.5 Respondents’ Positions ............................................................. 140 4.3.6 Respondents’ Ranks .................................................................. 140