The Effect of Organisational Culture Strength on Knowledge Sharing and Firm Performance in Nigerian Professional Service Firms

This study examines the effect of organisational culture strength on knowledge sharing behaviour and firm performance in Nigerian professional service firms, including management consulting, legal, and accounting practices in Lagos and Abuja. Knowledge is the primary value-creating asset in professional services, and organisational culture shapes the conditions under which knowledge flows across individual and team boundaries. The study employs a quantitative survey design with 185 professionals and 40 partners or senior managers from 22 firms, using stratified random sampling. The Organisational Culture Inventory, a validated Knowledge Sharing Behaviour Scale, and the Balanced Scorecard-adapted Firm Performance Measure serve as the primary instruments. Quinn and Rohrbaugh's Competing Values Framework provides the theoretical orientation for culture classification. Structural Equation Modelling is used to test the hypothesised relationships. Findings reveal that constructive cultural orientations, characterised by achievement, affiliation, and self-actualisation norms, significantly predict knowledge sharing intensity and, through it, firm performance outcomes. Defensive culture patterns are negatively associated with knowledge sharing, suggesting that power dynamics and self-protective behaviours in professional hierarchies suppress information flows. The study also finds that culture strength, rather than culture type alone, amplifies the knowledge sharing-performance relationship. Recommendations include leadership role-modelling of knowledge generosity, redesigning reward systems to incentivise collaboration, and using narrative communication to reinforce knowledge-sharing cultural norms. Keywords: Organisational Culture, Knowledge Sharing, Firm Performance, Professional Services, Nigeria.