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Background: In a competition for scarce resources, higher education institutions in developing countries have lost to other priorities. The article examines specific barriers to innovation in the higher education context. A thorough understanding and removal of these impediments paves a way to innovation in developing countries, specifically Zimbabwe. Objectives: Firstly, the study sought to evaluate the barriers to innovation in higher education and secondly recommend strategies to improve the innovation capabilities of the institutions. Method: A survey strategy was adopted to collect data from 240 purposefully selected academics at four state universities in Zimbabwe with a 66.6% response rate. Results: The results indicate that the lack of funding for research is the biggest barrier to innovation in higher education with a 46% representation. Along the same spectrum, the lack of incentives is also another barrier with an account of 21% of the participants who participated. The organisational structure is also a pertinent barrier with 24% representation. Lastly, the organisational culture accounts 9% of the participants. Conclusion: Adequate resource allocation and funding is crucial to the success and transformation of the higher education system. Implementing policies that align with the strategic goals of the institutions is imperative to bring about innovation not only in Zimbabwe but also in other developing countries too. Contribution: Higher education institutions should provide adequate funding for research and reassess their organisational cultures and structures for them to be on the cutting edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of knowledge-sharing practices in higher education result in improved decisionmaking, improved access to information and increased collaboration. A knowledge-sharing culture enables the free exchange of knowledge amongst academics and this drives institutions towards innovation. This study examines the extent to which knowledge-sharing practices have been adopted at higher education institutions (HEIs) of developing countries. The article reports on an inquiry conducted at HEIs in Zimbabwe to determine the knowledgesharing practices in place. A survey was used to collect quantitative data from 240 purposefully selected academics at the HEIs. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. This study established that HEIs have not fully implemented the knowledge-sharing practices. Empirical evidence confirms that attendance of conferences is important for knowledge sharing where 43% of the participants approved the proposition. Coaching and mentoring improve academic skills such that 21.7% of the participants approved the premise. Subscribing to international journals increases the visibility of scientific research work and only 18.3% of the participants confirmed that their institutions subscribe to internationally recognised journals. Surprisingly, 60% of the participants confirmed that their institutions do not offer knowledge-sharing workshops. Unremarkably, 23.3% of the participants confirmed that their institutions do not have a knowledge-sharing culture. Transdisciplinarity Contribution: Higher education institutions have not fully exploited the knowledge-sharing practices that could make them more innovative. The institutions are still at the trial stage of adopting knowledge-sharing practices. This study therefore recommends the creation of communities of practice (COPs) specifically for knowledge sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the knowledge economy, organisations are shifting their investment focus to intellectual capital in order to sustain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Organisational survival is increasingly dependent on the organisation's ability to create and distribute knowledge that contributes to the improvement of performance. The purpose of this article is to evaluate individual knowledge-acquisition and sharing practices in the South African public sector. I applied the techniques of grounded theory analysis to extract themes from data that could provide insight into the knowledge sharing that takes place in the South African public sector. Findings revealed that the informal sharing of knowledge takes place in discussion forums within communities of practice through web-based, socially orientated platforms. These communities of practice are widespread throughout the public sector and are established with the purpose of soliciting expert knowledge from those who have been using open-source software successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]