Abstract Knowledge Sharing (KS) is the foundation stone to Knowledge Management (KM). Some variables hinder KS in the organizations. These variables are known as Knowledge Sharing Barriers (KSBs). The objective of this paper is to identify the critical KSBs and their mutual influences. Identification of KSBs which are at the root of hierarchy (called driving KSBs) and those which are at the top of the hierarchy (called dependent KSBs) is the main aim of this research work. The Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) methodology has been used to evolve mutual relationship among the KSBs. It is observed that two KSBs, namely,'lack of top management commitment'and'KM is not well understood', have high driving power and therefore deserve serious attention. Arrangement of KSBs in a hierarchy and their categorization into driver and dependent categories is an exclusive effort in the area of KM. The study concludes with a discussion and the managerial implications.