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Purpose – This paper aims to provide empirical evidence to support the relationship between interorganizational knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity and organizational performance, and proposes that interorganizational knowledge sharing is composed of two processes: knowledge donation and collection. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative methodology is adopted to examine the proposed relationship between interorganizational knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity and organizational performance. The study uses survey data from 269 companies in Brazil. Structural equation modeling is applied to test the stated hypotheses and the model. Findings – The empirical findings indicate that interorganizational knowledge sharing is composed of the donation and collection of knowledge. Interorganizational knowledge collection is found to have a positive effect on interorganizational knowledge donation, while collection is found to have a positive effect, mediated by absorptive capacity, on organizational performance. Research limitations/implications – One limitation of this research was the predominant participation of smaller companies. Another is that the data were only collected from Brazilian companies. Moreover, an instrument to measure these constructs was proposed and validated to enable future research to be conducted into the process of interorganizational knowledge sharing and its components: knowledge donation and knowledge collection. Practical implications – Managers can enhance organizational performance by developing both the donation and collection of knowledge. Knowledge donation is particularly important because, in addition to its impact on absorptive capacity and organizational performance, it contributes to the development of knowledge collection, which is also indirectly related to performance. Originality value – The donation and collection of knowledge were validated as components of the interorganizational knowledge-sharing process, and the relationship between these processes and organizational performance is mediated by the absorptive capacity of the organization.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how knowledge takes effect in different software development methodologies by relating them to different knowledge cycles. Design/methodology/approach The results were find by conducing a general review about the topics of knowledge cycles and software development methodologies. Findings All software development methodologies have knowledge cycles. In Waterfall methodology, the cycle followed is I-Space. For “code and fix,” there is a parallel with March’s cycle. Scrum shows a parallel with SECI cycle. Among the methodological options, results show there an increase in hierarchy, documentation, processes and explicit knowledge. Research limitations/implications Identified parallels of each methodology with knowledge cycles; established which Scrum artifacts are performed at each stage of SECI, which Waterfall steps correspond to I-Space phases and which activities in “code and fix” deal with exploration and exploitation of knowledge; and features shown increase or decrease according to the adoption of each methodology. Practical implications Results help knowledge sharing implementations and foster inter-team knowledge sharing, with the identification of the correct methodology-cycle match and the personalization of the strategy for each team based on the adopted methodology. Training for knowledge initiatives can be improved by determining how knowledge-sharing activities are incorporated on the determined series of actions established by the methodologies adopted on the firm. Originality/value The identification of how knowledge is generated and shared among teams in each methodology, the optimum pairing of the methodology and the parallels with the other, and the differences that emerge from the adopted knowledge cycle show that software projects are embedded in a knowledge cycle.

Information technology and top management support are considered infrastructure for knowledge sharing. This research aims to identify infrastructure profiles and their relationship with knowledge sharing. A survey method was adopted involving 231 respondents working in information technology teams in Brazil. The analysis identified four profiles, namely: focus on information technology; focus on top management support; adrift; and knowledge sharing oriented. The latter was identified as being the most effective, while no significant difference was found between the other clusters in relation to knowledge sharing. This finding is a supplement to this field of knowledge because, in addition to confirming the relevance of the two constructs, it shows that their simultaneous presence contributes to knowledge sharing. This result also helps managers by highlighting that in order to leverage knowledge sharing it is necessary to signal the importance of the process for the company, as well as provide adequate information technology.