The role of academic leaders in promoting knowledge sharing practices at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University: A field study‎

Abstract

The objective of this study is to know the degree of academic leadership practice at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University for its role in enhancing the knowledge sharing of faculty members; know the factors affecting its establishment, the challenges leaders face in performing their role in this field. Therefore, the study relied on the descriptive methodology, as it surveyed the literature related to the subject of the study; analyzed it to extrapolate the concept of knowledge sharing, its levels, mechanisms, and importance, extracting factors that enhance the culture of knowledge sharing. The study tools, which were represented in two tools, were designed. The first is a questionnaire that was applied to a sample of faculty members in colleges of education, science and the Arabic language to identify the reality of the role of academic leaders at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University for its role in promoting knowledge sharing, and the factors affecting This role. As for the second tool, it was an interview with a sample of academic leaders (deans, agents, department heads) to uncover the most prominent challenges that they face in carrying out their role in that field. The field study revealed weakness in some aspects of the cultural and motivational role to enhance knowledge sharing, and the study did not find statistically significant differences between the responses of the study sample according to the gender of the faculty members, their academic degrees, and their colleges, while the study revealed the presence of statistically significant differences between the responses of the study sample accordingly for different nationalities in favor of Saudi nationality. There have been many challenges facing academic leaders in playing its role in enhancing knowledge sharing; such as the lack of specific mechanisms for motivation, the interest of the prevailing culture in the university in the process of sharing knowledge and exchanging knowledge was not in the required form, and the preoccupation of faculty members due to the educational and administrative burdens they bear. The study presented a set of proposals that contribute to activating the role of academic leaders at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in promoting knowledge sharing for faculty members, such as interest in spreading a culture of knowledge sharing in the university, providing a stimulating environment for faculty members, and providing mechanisms to achieve cooperation between faculty members in various fields, and providing opportunities to exchange experiences in different disciplines.