Sharing is Caring: A Qualitative Case Study on Knowledge Sharing in University Business Incubators

Abstract: Startups and entrepreneur support organisations like business incubators are contemporary fields of research. A key resource startups receive from incubators is knowledge through the process of knowledge sharing with fellow startups. The different perspectives, professional experience, and expertise i.e. cognitive diversity, present in this environment affect this process. This paper aims to explore that effect by looking at how the factors that foster knowledge sharing are affected by cognitive diversity. Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted then the analysis was conducted by looking at the impact of cognitive diversity on the different factors/factor categories affecting the effectiveness of knowledge sharing on an organisational level. The paper concludes that cognitive diversity does indeed have an impact on knowledge sharing within university business incubators. This impact spans different drivers that affect the depth and breadth of knowledge sharing. Future research should explore these two dimensions by replicating this study in different contexts or studying the same impact using a quantitative study.