Knowledge Sharing and Covid-19 Pandemic How Does a Global Crisis Impact The Attitude Toward Knowledge Sharing Drivers?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound and devastating consequences globally, affecting lives, societies, and economies, leading to widespread job losses and financial crises across various countries. The pandemic has significantly disrupted personal and business aspects of life, underscoring the need for essential changes in business operations and human interactions. Despite the intrinsic challenges presented by the pandemic, the market's inherent competitiveness persists, particularly impacting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) like family businesses (FBs), which require optimised resource utilisation for survival and success. This study explores the drivers of knowledge sharing (KS) within small family businesses (FBs) in the restaurant and fast-food industry, considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through surveys conducted before and during the pandemic, our findings highlight shifts in attitudes towards KS drivers. Pre-pandemic results indicated the importance of organisational drivers (ODs), such as financial rewards and management support. However, during the pandemic, technological drivers (TD) became more critical, suggesting a transformation towards valuing technological and informational factors in KS processes within FBs. These findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of KS in FBs, shedding light on how external factors like a pandemic can reshape the importance of KS drivers. Additionally, this study offers insights for FB owners and policymakers to enhance knowledge management strategies and sustainability efforts in FBs.