The impact of trust and power on knowledge sharing in design projects: some empirical evidence from the aerospace industry

It is acknowledged by aerospace engineers that relationships between partners are influenced by topics such as trust and that they enable or inhibit knowledge flow. This paper presents findings from interviews with engineers in the aerospace industry on how trust and power within supply chain teams impact knowledge sharing and integration. From a trust perspective, the results of the paper indicate that individually, engineers are aware of its importance but that there is little organisational awareness and consequently no framework or support exists for managing it. With regards to power, we show that there are positive as well as negative impacts on knowledge sharing to be considered.