Knowledge Sharing Drivers Among Legal Professionals: Insights from Thailand's Intellectual Property Law Firms

Abstract

This study explores the motivations influencing knowledge sharing among lawyers and legal counsels in intellectual property (IP) law firms in Thailand. IP law firms represent a knowledge-intensive professional service context in which legal professionals must combine legal knowledge, procedural knowledge, client-related experience, and business-oriented IP strategy. Using a qualitative research approach, this study conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with ten legal professionals from five leading Thai IP law firms, including partners and senior associates/associates. Thematic analysis was employed to identify the types of knowledge shared, existing knowledge sharing practices, and motivational factors affecting knowledge sharing behavior. The findings reveal four categories of knowledge shared in Thai IP law firms: legal knowledge, professional practical knowledge, IP-driven business strategy knowledge, and personal skill knowledge. The study further identifies two groups of motivational factors. The key extrinsic factors are organizational culture, team interaction, management involvement, technology, business development, and institutional sustainability. The key intrinsic factors are recognition, professional reputation, altruism, trust, and reflexive self-development. Three important context-specific insights emerged from the data: knowledge sharing supports business development through professional visibility and client trust; institutional sustainability depends on transferring knowledge across generations of lawyers; and reflexive self-development shows that lawyers also learn and improve through the act of sharing knowledge with others. The study contributes to knowledge management research by extending understanding of knowledge sharing in a specialized legal context in an emerging economy. It also provides practical implications for law firm management. Thai IP law firms should not treat knowledge sharing merely as informal cooperation among lawyers, but as a strategic management practice. Firms should strengthen leadership involvement, create regular formal and informal sharing opportunities, improve searchable knowledge repositories, support mentoring and cross-team discussion, and recognize knowledge sharing as part of professional development and succession planning. Technology should be used not only for document storage, but also to improve knowledge retrieval and reuse. By developing more systematic knowledge management practices, IP law firms can reduce knowledge loss, improve consistency of legal service, support junior lawyer development, and enhance long-term competitiveness.