RESEARCH ARTICLE The sharing and management of managers' knowledge: A structured literature review Miché Ouédraogo | Natalie Rinfret Chaire La Capitale en leadership dans le secteur public, École nationale d'administration publique, Québec, Canada Correspondence Miché Ouédraogo, Chaire La Capitale en leadership dans le secteur public, École nationale d'administration publique, 555, boulevard Charest Est, Québec, Québec, Canada G1K 9E5. Email: miche.ouedraogo@enap.ca Funding information Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; La Capitale mutuelle de l'administration publique The management and sharing of managers' knowledge constitute vital components of organizational success and performance. A range of existing studies on managerial knowledge has analyzed various aspects of knowledge sharing and management on a patchwork basis. With future research developments in mind, some stock‐taking of the current body of research studies should now be undertaken for the purpose of obtaining a clearer understanding of how managerial knowledge is and could be shared and managed. Specifically, this study strives to reply to three questions: (1) What is the status of the development of literature concerning managers' knowledge? (2) What are the various conceptualizations of managers' knowledge and of its shar- ing and management? (3) What are the main determinants of the sharing and man- agement of managers' knowledge that have been identified in the literature? A structured literature review method was used to code and analyze 57 studies pub- lished between 1997 and 2016. The results show that 128 authors produced an average of 3.2 publications per year, offering an abundance of conceptualizations of managers' knowledge and of its shar- ing and management. Several individual and organizational determinants of manage- rial knowledge sharing and management were identified in our review. The various findings provide a basis for orienting future research in this field. 1 | INTRODUCTION Whereas the management and sharing of knowledge were for many years neglected, they have recently become a subject of interest (Blankenship & Ruona, 2009; Gourlay, 2001). For organizations, knowledge management and sharing represent two indispensable, strategic cornerstones of their performance or success (McAdam & Reid, 2000; Tangaraja, Mohd Rasdi, Ismail, & Abu Samah, 2015; Witherspoon, Bergner, Cockrell, & Stone, 2013). According to several researchers, knowledge management and sharing can have positive impacts, both for an organization and the individuals of which it is comprised. For organizations, these impacts are visible in terms of effectiveness (Bharadwaj, Chauhan, & Raman, 2015; Pangil & Moi Chan, 2014; Quigley, Tesluk, Locke, & Bartol, 2007; Yao, Kam, & Chan, 2007), capacity for innovation (Yeşil & Dereli, 2013), improved productivity (Noaman & Fouad, 2014; Yao et al., 2007), team performance (Cheng & Li, 2011; Silvi & Cuganesan, 2006; Yao et al., 2007), and competitive advantage (Felin & Hesterly, 2007). For individuals, the benefits can be observed in terms of perfor- mance (van Woerkom & Sanders, 2010) and innovative behaviors (Yu, Yu, & Yu, 2013). As concerns the public sector specifically, improved knowledge management helps to improve the delivery of services and increase the productivity of employees and organizations (Gorry, 2008; Yusof, Ismail, Ahmad, & Yusof, 2012). Managers are key players in the smooth running of organizations. In their capacity as leaders, they play a strategic role, taking part in both the development and implementation of organizational vision for the purpose of maximizing performance (Mintzberg, 2009, 2011). And, as concerns the public sector particularly, they contribute to the develop- ment and implementation of public policies (Taylor & Wright, 2004); in that role, they are instrumental in accomplishing their government's mission (Singh Sandhu, Kishore Jain, & Umi Kalthom bte Ahmad, Received: 5 February 2019 Accepted: 15 April 2019 DOI: 10.1002/kpm.1606 Knowl Process Manag. 2019;1–18. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/kpm 1