Working separately together: A quantitative study into the knowledge sharing behaviour of judges

Abstract

Judges are knowledge workers 'par excellence'. Judges regularly need to sharpen and update their knowledge in order to respond to the complexity of daily work tasks. To ensure that judges are able to perform at their utmost level, it is important that they can make optimal use of the available knowledge in the organization. Whereas only part of the available knowledge in the organization is formally captured (e.g. in commentaries), judges need each other (and other important knowledge holders in the court) to obtain access to non-codified and personally retained knowledge. Through collegial knowledge sharing, judges can discuss complex legal matters and reflect on practical difficulties in their work. The focus of this study is on the knowledge sharing behaviour of judges, which is studied empirically using survey data from 447 professional administrative law judges employed in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Based on the survey data, some interesting patterns are revealed. The findings of this study indicate that collegial knowledge sharing can only be indirectly managed, i.e. bij creating the right conditions under which social relationships can thrive and motivational tendencies can flourish. Practical recommendations are formulated to inform court organizations about a number of steps that can be taken to foster collegial knowledge sharing in courts.