Knowledge Sharing Motivation Research Articles

Influence of Psychological Contracts in Knowledge Sharing Through Startups

Informed by exchange and social capital theories, reasoned action, and psychological contract frameworks, this paper seeks to elucidate the intricate interplay between psychological contracts and their impact on knowledge-sharing motivations within the context of startups. The research adopts a qualitative approach, employing in-depth personal interviews and focus groups, with subsequent content analysis facilitated by NVivo software. Through a comprehensive exploration encompassing startups spanning diverse industries and maturity levels, the investigation draws upon insights from founding partners, directors, and employees. Notably, this study stands apart from the literature primarily examining established enterprises in Anglo-Saxon nations. Conversely, it distinguishes itself by its novel examination of how psychological contracts exert influence on knowledge sharing across individual, intra-organizational, and inter-organizational strata within startups operating in emerging economies, taking into account their distinctive characteristics. The findings shed light on employees' core perceptions of their reciprocal obligations and the organization's corresponding commitments. Moreover, the research unveils the nuanced impact of contextual factors on the cultivation of social bonds, consequently moulding knowledge-sharing dynamics within startups, thereby directly shaping individual and organizational outcomes.

Evaluating the couriers' experiences of logistics platform: The extension of expectation confirmation model and technology acceptance model.

The current study integrated the Extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and included information system quality (ISQ), user interface (UI), knowledge sharing motivation (KSM), the expectation confirmation model (ECM), safety management practices (SMP), interface aesthetics (IA), and perceived value (PV) to evaluate the logistics couriers’ experience while using an Online logistics platform. This research examines the relationships of KSM, SMP, and ISQ on the TAM’s, perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived ease of use (PEOU). In addition, it explores the relationship between UI on PEOU. Furthermore, to explore the impact of ECM, it examines the impact of confirmation (CON) on PU and satisfaction (SAT). Finally, this research explores the impact of logistics couriers’ SAT on continuous intention (CI). According to the findings of this study, UI did not have a significant association with PEOU. Furthermore, KSM was found to significantly impact PEOU, while having no significant effect on PU. Moreover, SMP was found to have no significance on PEOU, however, SMP was discovered to be in a significant association with PU. In addition, ISQ was found to significantly impact PEOU, PU, and, PV. Moreover, CON was in a significant relationship with PU, while not having a significant impact on SAT. Furthermore, IA did not significantly impact PV. Also, SAT was significantly impacted by PU, while not having any significant impact from PEOU, and PV. Besides, PEOU was discovered to significantly impact PU. Finally, SAT was found to be in a significant relationship with CI.

Motivated to share? Development and validation of a domain-specific scale to measure knowledge-sharing motives

PurposeThis paper aims to develop and validate a scale to measure knowledge-sharing motives at work. It is aimed to construct a scale which is explicitly different from knowledge-sharing behavior and to develop a comprehensive and domain-specific scale for this special kind of work motivation.Design/methodology/approachThe constructed scale was tested in two studies. Survey data (n = 355) were used to perform an exploratory factor analysis. Results were further tested on survey data from the core public sector (n = 314) and the health sector (n = 315). A confirmatory factor analysis confirms the results in both samples. The developed scale was further validated internally and externally.FindingsThe analysis underlines that knowledge-sharing motivation and knowledge-sharing behavior are different constructs. The data suggest three dimensions of knowledge-sharing motives: appreciation, growth and altruism and tangible rewards. While it is suggested that the developed scale works in the public as well as the private sector context, it is found that knowledge sharing of public employees is merely driven by “growth and altruism” and “appreciation of coworkers.”Originality/valueNo comprehensive and reproducible scale to measure knowledge-sharing motives, which is different from behavior and domain-specific as well, was available in the literature. Therefore, such a scale has been constructed in this study. Furthermore, this study uses samples from different organizational sectors to deepen the understanding of knowledge sharing in context.

Motivations to share knowledge in professional service teams: the moderating role of project stage

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effects of three-perspective motivations including task interdependence, normative conformity, affective bonding on team knowledge sharing (KS) and the moderating effects of project stage on the proposed model paths.Design/methodology/approachThe quantitative method was applied through surveying senior auditors representing 263 audit teams in Vietnam.FindingsFindings show that task interdependence has salient effect on team KS. Normative conformity and affective bonding become more important when projects move to later stages where knowledge shared is more tacit and the team involves more social interactions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study puts forth the limitations related to the study scope of financial statement auditing teams that may influence the generalization.Practical implicationsThis study recommends auditing managers to be aware of diverse motivations for team KS and their increasingly important role in specific project stages.Originality/valueThe novelty of the research is to integrate three knowledge-sharing motivations based on economics, social and psychological perspectives and to affirm the dynamic nature of KS within team projects.

Knowledge Sharing Motivation, Behavior, and Creativity of Knowledge Workers in Virtual Organizations

Focusing on the basic research subject of “seeking effective ways to enhance knowledge workers’ creativity,” this paper has surveyed a total of 208 employees from 11 Chinese high‐tech enterprises. Based on review and analysis of relevant literature, this paper has constructed a moderating effect model including mediating factors relying on the social cognitive theory and tested the model by hierarchical multiple regression. The results show that there is a significant positive correlation between knowledge sharing motivation and creativity of members in a virtual organization. Knowledge sharing behavior plays a partial mediating role between knowledge sharing motivation and creativity, and self‐efficacy moderates the complete mediating effect of knowledge sharing behavior on the relationship between knowledge sharing motivation and creativity. These conclusions enrich the theory of the relationship between knowledge sharing motivation and creativity, and enable enterprises to understand the importance of employees’ knowledge sharing motivation and the ways to stimulate employees’ creativity by activating their knowledge sharing behavior.

The Effect of Individual and Environmental Motivations on YouTuber Followers’ Behavioral Changes

This study aimed to determine the effective factors on the behavioral changes of YouTuber followers. Accordingly, it was targeted to determine the effect of the individual, environmental motivations, and YouTuber characteristics on the change of followers’ behavior through the online flow process. Meanwhile, the mediating role of opinion seeking and the moderator role of the fear of missing out have been discussed. The main mass consisted of 520 female consumers who live in Istanbul, are at least 18 years of age, and follow at least one YouTuber in the makeup/cosmetic/beauty segment. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that three subdimensions of knowledge-sharing motivations, which are consumer interactivity, trust, and consumer expertise; four subdimensions of fundamental interpersonal relation orientations, which are the need to be part of a group, avoidance of similarity and unpopular choice counter-conformity, creative choice counter-conformity, and the need for personal growth; and social presence have a positive, community identification and that YouTuber characteristics have a negative effect on online flow. However, social norms have no effect. Meanwhile, online flow is effective on the behavioral changes of followers. Finally, opinion seeking has a mediating role whereas the fear of missing out has a moderating role.

Relational dimensions, motivation and knowledge-sharing in healthcare: a perspective from relational models theory

This study investigates the relational dimensions that shape clinicians' intentionality and motivation for knowledge-sharing. Qualitative data was collected from 40 clinicians in two hospitals, and relational models theory was used to investigate the impact of different relational models (communal-sharing, authority-ranking, equality-matching and market-pricing) on clinicians' intentionality and motivation to engage in knowledge and learning. While communal-sharing and expert-based authority–ranking relationships predominantly encourage intra-professional knowledge-sharing, equality-matching encourages inter-professional knowledge-sharing. This implies that while the idea is to work together to improve public service quality, each actor has their own interests and is motivated to share knowledge for different collective and/or personal reasons/agendas. In the public sector, formal authority-ranking and market-pricing are the main driving forces of coordination of actions and knowledge flow, through the medium of money and trade. Despite this, power games and a lack of support from those in positions of authority and ignorance of potential conflicts of interest, as well as extrinsic motivators, hamper knowledge-sharing, all of which threaten patient safety. Points for practitioners In pursuit of public service improvement, a focus on fostering an organizational culture that promotes collective behaviour, especially among those in authority, is crucial, given that their lack of support retards knowledge-sharing. For effective knowledge-sharing, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are equally important depending on the relational model.

Where does knowledge-sharing motivation come from? The case of third-party developer in mobile platforms

PurposeIn mobile platforms, an increasing number of third-party developers (developers) create new ideas and enhance their expertise through knowledge sharing on the developers’ community. Notwithstanding the importance of the sharing and its uniqueness on the mobile platform contexts, the motivational factors of sharing their knowledge on the community have been underinvestigated. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive framework to enhance the knowledge sharing in the mobile platform context.Design/methodology/approachBased on the theory of reasoned action, this paper incorporated intrinsic and internalized extrinsic motivations with two unique features of platform environments: platform open policies and coopetitive relationships. To test, an online survey was distributed to four developer communities in Korea, two Android and two iOS communities.FindingsThe results show that a platform pursuing higher openness causes the developers to find higher social pressure for information sharing. The coopetitive relationship with other developers in the same platform takes dissimilar roles; reciprocity significantly increases subjective norm, while rivalry does attitude. Self-efficacy and self-development stimulate knowledge sharing. Furthermore, multilevel analysis to capture the difference between two leading mobile platforms indicates no path difference but, interestingly, shows significant mean difference between the two platforms regarding perceived openness and rivalry.Originality/valueWith this paper, the authors fulfill the need to understand the knowledge-sharing intention of developers in the context of mobile platforms where developers can be potential competitors or cooperators and where two platforms offer different policies and developmental environments.

The Influence of Social Media on Employee’s Knowledge Sharing Motivation: A Two-Factor Theory Perspective

This study aims to investigate social media (hygiene factor), motivators (allow employees to share knowledge), and employee’s knowledge sharing motivation (KSM). For this purpose, the author introduces two-factor theory as its research framework to propose research hypotheses and construct the theoretical model. Then the model is tested and validated based on a survey of 278 enterprise employees in China, utilizing structural equation modeling through SPSS statistics and AMOS. It is found that first, the three states of knowledge sharing (lack of motivation, intermediate state, and with motivation) constitute two continuums. The satisfaction of motivators and hygiene factors respectively lead to changes in the state of motivation to share, and second, social media affects the staff’s motivation to share through both a direct and an indirect pathway. Directly, as the hygiene factor, the absence of social media will weaken the staff’s motivation to share. However, its usage doesn’t directly increase employees’ sharing motivation. Indirectly, through the mediating effect of self-efficacy social media can influence knowledge sharing motivation of employees.

Knowledge Sharing Behavior, Mentoring and Motivation as Determinants of Employee Performance in Selected New Generation Banks, Lagos, Nigeria

Employee performance plays a pivotal role in the attainment of organizational success, especially, in the Nigerian banking industry, due to its high level of dynamism and competition. However, the joint effect between knowledge sharing behavior, mentoring, and motivation on employee performance seems not to have been given attention in the literature. In view of this, this study investigated the interaction between knowledge sharing behavior, mentoring and motivation on employee performance in new generation banks in Lagos, Nigeria. The population comprised 8,334 employees from six new generation banks that are listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Stratified sampling technique was used to select 1,628 employees. Findings revealed that knowledge sharing behavior, mentoring and motivation jointly influenced employee performance in the selected new generation banks in Lagos, Nigeria. However, in terms of relative contribution to employee performance, motivation made a higher contribution than knowledge sharing behavior while mentoring made no significant contribution to employee performance.

Which Employees are Most Motivated to Share Knowledge – the Role of Age-Based Differentiation in Knowledge-Sharing Motivation

Which Employees are Most Motivated to Share Knowledge – the Role of Age-Based Differentiation in Knowledge-Sharing Motivation

Impact of Intercultural Awareness on Innovation Capability in Multinational Organizations: Mediating Roles of Knowledge Sharing Motivations

Impact of Intercultural Awareness on Innovation Capability in Multinational Organizations: Mediating Roles of Knowledge Sharing Motivations

Knowledge Sharing Motivation Among External and Internal IT Workers

This paper extends a previous study that proposed an integrated model to test knowledge sharing (KS) motivation among information technology (IT) workers. While the previous study focussed on the differences in KS between internal and external IT workers, the perspective of the current paper is broader; it proposes additional hypotheses, and uses both inferential statistics and data mining techniques to detect further practical aspects of the integrated model findings. Because data mining techniques are useful in extracting patterns and gaining insights from data, they are implemented here alongside inferential statistics. The present study also looks into the employment-contract factor, to better capture the differences between internal and external IT workers. The study reveals that external workers score significantly lower than internal workers in almost every component of the integrated KS model. This gives rise to five practical implications of knowledge management (KM) and employment policies, including factors and practises that should be taken into consideration while employing external workers, to help motivate collaborative behaviour in IT departments.

Decrypting the Motive: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Students’ Knowledge Sharing Motivation

Decrypting the Motive: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Students’ Knowledge Sharing Motivation

Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for experience grounded tacit knowledge sharing in Chinese software organisations

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify and explain the role of individuals’ awareness and motivation in facilitating knowledge sharing (KS) in the real world of practice, as well as to establish areas of convergence between theory and practice that can be of use to both academics and practitioners involved in knowledge intensive organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis study used Grounded Theory (GT) as an inductive methodology to collect, analyse and interpret data from multiple case-studies. 44 participants from Chinese software organisations were selected on the basis of their role in SW design and development and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview script. The data analysis followed a Straussian approach to coding, which consists of open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The analysis focused on the impact of individuals’ awareness and motivation to share knowledge.FindingsThe findings of this research show that the motivation for KS – a time consuming and demanding activity – is indeed related to awareness by managers and developers of the benefits of KS in their professional practice. Practitioners shared their experiences and tacit knowledge with others, partly because it was required by their companies, but also because they have a sound awareness of the need to share knowledge both inside and outside their organisations.Research limitations/implicationsAs a typical social science inductive study, this research is bounded by the context in which the theory proposed emerged from. Further research should be conducted into a richer variety of organisational and national contexts, as suggested by good theoretical sampling practice, which could provide further insights or contrasts.Originality/valueDespite a number of theoretical propositions found in the literature, there is a clear lack of implementation strategies and models that explain the role of awareness and motivation in facilitating KS in the world of practice. This issue of applicability of theoretical propositions is now recognised as one of the fundamental key issues in KS. This study provides new and practice grounded insights in this area and is of interest to both practitioners and theoreticians as it explains and bridges the individuals’ awareness and motivation for tacit KS.

Knowledge Sharing Analytics: The Case of IT Workers

ABSTRACTThe current study proposes a new framework for knowledge sharing (KS) analytics among information technology (IT) workers, based on an electronic source of collaborative software used by IT developers. It attempts to formulate a new objective way to measure actual KS. The findings confirm previous reports of differences in KS motivation between internal and external IT workers. The metrics of electronic source footprints proposed in this study have confirmed that the KS level of external IT workers is significantly lower than that of internal IT workers. Several practical implications for better knowledge management (KM) are discussed, including the measuring of KS levels on an ongoing basis, and practices that should be considered when employing external IT workers, in order to motivate collaborative behaviors and team work in IT departments.

Effects of Restaurant Satisfaction and Knowledge Sharing Motivation on eWOM Intentions

The growth of consumer-generated media (CGM) has promoted the popularity of online knowledge sharing and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). While the topic of eWOM has drawn much attention in academy and industry, little research has been published addressing the factors influencing eWOM intentions. Using a well-known restaurant review website, Openrice.com, as an example, this study explored three predictors to eWOM intentions in an integrative framework: experience factor (restaurant satisfaction), knowledge sharing factors (egoistic and altruistic needs), and technology acceptance factors (perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use). In addition, the moderating role of technology acceptance factors on the relationships between experience/knowledge sharing factors and eWOM intentions were examined. The results of the study indicate that (1) individuals’ altruistic needs trigger positive eWOM, (2) the perceived usefulness of the website has a significant main effect on eWOM intentions, and (3) the perceived usefulness significantly moderates the relationships between satisfaction/egoistic needs and eWOM intentions. The discussions also provide implications and managerial insights for research and practice.

Why share expertise? A closer look at the quality of motivation to share or withhold knowledge

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of motivation for knowledge sharing (KS) by assessing how four qualitatively different motivation types, as per self-determination theory (SDT), predict KS, its quality and its undesirable counterpart, knowledge withholding. Design/methodology/approach The study was carried out as a survey (n = 200) in an expert organization. The analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling. Findings Autonomous type of extrinsic motivation (identified motivation) was the strongest predictor of KS (in work meetings) and its quality, whereas the other motivation types (intrinsic, introjected and external) had no independent contribution to variance in KS. Knowledge withholding was negatively associated with identified and positively with external KS motivation. Research limitations/implications Single organization limits the generalizability of the results. Future studies should further investigate the role of identified motivation for various KS behaviors. Practical implications The findings suggest that autonomy-supportive management practices known to facilitate self-determined behavior can improve KS. Fostering external motivation by incentivizing KS may be both ineffective and have undesirable consequences. Originality/value Few prior studies investigate KS motivation beyond external and intrinsic motivation or apply SDT to KS using SDT-based scales. This study distinguishes between four different motivation types and is the first to investigate their differential impact on KS and its quality. It is also the first to demonstrate the importance of identified motivation for KS. It further elucidates how the quality of KS motivation is reflected in knowledge withholding, an overall underinvestigated behavior.

The Effects of Individual and National Cultures in Knowledge Sharing

A major challenge for multinational companies is to motivate employees with different individual cultural characteristics and national cultures to share knowledge. Although comparative studies across different countries have been conducted, little is known about the effects of individual cultural differences in this context. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of individual and national cultures in knowledge sharing. The individual cultural characteristics of power distance, individualism/collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance are incorporated into the model as antecedents of knowledge-sharing motivations (organizational rewards, image, and reciprocal benefits). National cultural differences are examined by subjects conducted in the U.S. and China. Results show that power distance is significantly related to reciprocal benefits for the U.S. but not for China. Individualism/collectivism is related to organizational rewards and image for the U.S. but not for China, while individualism/collectivism is significantly related to reciprocal benefits for China but not for the U.S. Uncertainty avoidance is significantly related to reciprocal benefits for the U.S. but not for China. This study provides knowledge-sharing practices and managements for multinational companies attempting to motivate U.S. and Chinese employees to share knowledge.

The effects of tourists’ knowledge-sharing motivation on online tourist community loyalty: the moderating role of ambient stimuli

This study explores the role of tourists’ knowledge-sharing motivation in the formation of online community loyalty. More specifically, the study examines (1) the theoretical relationships between five factors influencing knowledge-sharing motivation, knowledge contributions (KNC), knowledge-sharing continuance intentions (KCI), and community promotion (COP) and (2) the moderating effects of ambient stimuli on the relationship between KNC and KCI and on that between KNC and COP. For valid respondents, a convenience sample of online travel community members was obtained using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Hence, a total of 410 responses were employed to test the research hypotheses through a structural equation modelling analysis and a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The results show that four factors influencing knowledge-sharing motivation, namely altruism, expected reciprocal benefits, reputation, and trust, had positive effects on KNO. KNO had positive effects on KCI and COP, and KCI had a positive effect on COP. In addition, a positive group perception moderated the KNC–KCI and KNC–COP relationships.