Tacit Knowledge Sharing and Personal Branding. How to Derive Innovation from Project Teams?

Abstract

Knowledge sharing and team cooperation encourage innovative solutions creation and consequently positively affect project performance. Bearing this fact in mind, the authors studied how tacit knowledge sharing affects the process of building a personal brand and project performance. For this purpose, the authors conducted a study among Polish professionals with different roles and experience in managing projects in various industries. The data collected during the study has been analysed using the equal structural modelling method. The results indicate that tacit knowledge sharing is used when developing a personal brand of knowledge workers. The intermediary role of personal branding in the relationship of tacit knowledge sharing and project performance points to a new context of tacit knowledge sharing as a key factor of knowledge management in learning organisations, which can be used for designing incentive schemes. A personal brand as a strong motivator for tacit knowledge sharing is a gain based not on financial benefits but on creating a perspective of future income whose foundation is a good reputation of one's strengthened brand. Tacit knowledge being a source of innovation stimulated by tailored incentive schemes enhances growth of successful innovation.