This paper explores whether there is a relationship between humanness
and the willingness to share knowledge in Malaysia. Furthermore, the
differences between the Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnicities are
researched for the presence of humanness and the willingness to share
knowledge. Two hundred and fourteen respondents from privately owned
companies participated in this research showing that there is a strong
relationship between humanness and knowledge sharing. However, the
differences between the three ethnicities are small, which is a
surprising finding. It can be concluded that people-oriented managers
(one of the ways to express humanness) are more willing to share
knowledge, and differences between ethnicities have no influence in this
matter. From these results, it can be recommended to managers and
organizations in Malaysia that they pay more attention and be aware of
their management style. Stressing the humanness aspects more as they are
described could improve the knowledge transfer within companies.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]