| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
Intensified competition and globalized markets have forced organizations to become
increasingly dependent on information sharing for competitiveness and decision making.
This study sought to determine the relationship between information sharing and firm
performance. A sample survey was conducted on categorized large manufacturing firms
in Nairobi.
The findings of the research revealed that information sharing is critical to the firms’
competitiveness. Furthermore, information sharing was strongly related to performance
objectives namely; market share, financials, effectiveness and efficiency and ability to
change and innovate.
The study further found that a number of challenges influence information sharing. They
comprise of; structural, cultural, individual as well as medium of transmission. The other
finding was that, some manufacturing firms deliberately limit sharing of information and
knowledge because of concerns about diverting or overloading employees’ work-related
attention, and a perception that their employees can become so powerful that the firm
loses control of them.
The study concluded that information sharing should be encouraged for long term
competitiveness and improved performance. Although many companies are reluctant to
share information, this study recommends it since sharing information creates a sense of
trust among employees which is likely to increase productivity.
Whereas this study was limited on sample size, the research findings concur with
prescriptive literature, and recommends future research to investigate information sharing
and organizational culture as well as challenges of information sharing and measures to
overcome them. | en |
