Working Meetings ‑ a Tool for Building or Destroying Trust in knowledge Creation and Sharing

Abstract

Abstract: This paper discusses and examines the role of working meetings as a tool for building and destroying trust in knowledge sharing and creation. Working meetings are one of the basic tools in organizations for collaboration and group cohesion, and a significant vehicle for communication. They play an important role in information and knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, coordination, decision making, problem solving and strengthening of group relationships inside and outside the organization, and contribute to build or destroy trust. Trust is manifested in commitment, open communication, ethical behaviour, predictability and doing the best in any activity. It creates openness and freedom at the individual and group level, so it plays an important role in knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. But as necessary and important working meetings are, they are also very costly and frequently unproductive.Unless properly managed, they can be a waste of valuable financial and emotional resources, with negative impact on organizational performance, culture, innovativeness and overall competitiveness. Good meeting planning, preparation, realization, assessment and follow‑up are needed to achieve meeting effectiveness. Meeting facilitators, as leaders, play a critical role to create a positive‑trustworthy atmosphere and conduct and manage the meetings with effectiveness. The main point of discussion is crystallized in the suggestion that meetings have an impact in integrative group behaviour, cooperation and knowledge sharing and creation. Building and maintaining trust are of utmost importance in it, to develop human capital for sustaining vitality and competitiveness in organizations. Originality of the paper is based on exploring the role of working meetings in relation to trust building for knowledge creation and sharing. Implications are made of how to