Introduction and backgroundThe emergence of the knowledge-based economy dictates that organisations innovate, create, find and combine knowledge into new products and services, and improve distribution methods so as to have a competitive edge over their competitors (Amar & Hlupic 2016;Brem, Maier & Wimschneider 2016;Esternhuizen, Schutte & Du Toit 2012). Academic libraries, just like other organisations, are interested in knowledge management (KM) to boost the efficiency and quality of their processes and services and to increase productivity and create innovative solutions and products for their users (De Bem et al. 2016). The success of academic libraries depends on how well they use staff knowledge to improve services (Marouf 2017). Jantz (2012) succinctly urges librarians to think of and craft services to satisfy the current and future needs of users. This can be partially achieved through engaging staff and using their knowledge to reorganise library processes. The success of an organisation partly depends on its ability to create and use knowledge.Challenges to managing knowledge include an absence of management support, being unclear of motivation frameworks that support knowledge holders and receivers, and an absence of a Background: Knowledge management has become increasingly significant in libraries because of rapid technological changes and the subsequent practices that have become enshrined in the way business is conducted. Knowledge creation as part of knowledge management is key to the sustainable survival of an organisation. The extant literature demonstrates that academic libraries have been engaged in knowledge creation in higher education institutions over the years. A number of studies have been undertaken in the field of knowledge management in Uganda; however, they all focused on knowledge management practices, such as creation, acquisition, documentation, application and sharing without adequately linking them to the reward culture. Consequently, little research has been conducted on the influence of reward culture on knowledge creation in academic libraries in Uganda. This gap in literature reinforces the need to closely examine reward culture in academic libraries in Uganda, as this will improve the understanding of some motivational factors in knowledge creation.
Objectives:The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between knowledge creation and reward culture in an academic library environment in Uganda.Methods: A multi-method research strategy that involved the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods was adopted. Eighty staff members from three libraries participated in the survey, which employed a self-administered questionnaire to collect data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three heads of the libraries. Data pertaining to reward culture and knowledge creation were also collected from institutional documents. The data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively.
Results:The major findings of the study are that the non-financial reward...