Darzin International Company Multidisciplinary Engineering Science Open 3 Serial Number 3 2026 07 01 A Qualitative Exploration of Knowledge Sharing in Multidisciplinary Engineering Research Teams A Qualitative Exploration of Knowledge Sharing in Multidisciplinary Engineering Research Teams 1 15 EN Journal Article 2026 02 11 <p>This study aimed to explore how knowledge is shared, interpreted, and transformed among members of multidisciplinary engineering research teams in Muscat, Oman. A qualitative exploratory design was employed to examine the lived and practice-based experiences of researchers, engineers, project coordinators, and technical specialists working in multidisciplinary engineering research teams. Twenty-five participants were recruited through purposive sampling from university-based laboratories, research centers, and industry-linked engineering projects in Muscat. Data were collected exclusively through semi-structured interviews lasting 45–75 minutes. Interviews focused on participants’ experiences of sharing technical knowledge, coordinating expertise, managing disciplinary differences, using digital platforms, and overcoming barriers to collaboration. Sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached after 22 interviews, followed by three confirmatory interviews. All interviews were audio-recorded with consent, transcribed verbatim, anonymized, and analyzed using thematic analysis supported by NVivo software. The analysis generated five main categories: boundary translation and shared technical language, relational trust and psychological safety, digital and informal knowledge infrastructures, leadership-enabled expertise coordination, and tensions created by time pressure, ownership, and institutional silos. Participants described knowledge sharing as more than information exchange; it involved translating assumptions, negotiating meanings, clarifying dependencies, and developing shared problem representations. Effective knowledge sharing occurred when teams created psychologically safe spaces, used visual and digital artifacts, recognized distributed expertise, and established routines for cross-disciplinary sensemaking. Barriers included disciplinary jargon, publication competition, fragmented documentation, uneven participation, and insufficient time for reflective integration. Knowledge sharing in multidisciplinary engineering research teams is a socially embedded, technically mediated, and leadership-dependent process. The findings suggest that successful collaboration requires shared language, trust, documentation discipline, boundary-spanning leadership, and institutional incentives that reward collective knowledge creation. Strengthening these conditions can improve research integration, innovation quality, and team learning in engineering research environments.</p> https://jmesopen.com/index.php/jmesopen/article/download/66/56