Individual-related factors influencing knowledge-sharing intention in knowledge-intensive businesses

• Main Author: van Greunen, Conrad
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 2017
• Subjects: Knowledge management; Intellectual capital > Management; Management > Information services; Organizational learning
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21274

It has become generally accepted to refer to today‟s global economy as a knowledge-based economy, since knowledge has increasingly become the resource, instead of a resource for wealth creation. The ability of businesses to harness the potential of intangible assets such as knowledge has become far more decisive than their ability to manage physical assets. In the implementation of knowledge management activities, knowledge sharing is recognised as an integral task and key enabler of knowledge management. Although knowledge sharing is regarded as one of the most crucial factors in the effective management of knowledge, in knowledge-intensive businesses in particular, it has also been established that most employees are reluctant to share knowledge. Research further confirms that the factors that promote or discourage knowledge-sharing behaviour in businesses are poorly understood and that knowledge management systems fail as a result of the misunderstanding of individual characteristics that could influence knowledge sharing. Moreover, the focus of knowledge-sharing literature, in terms of the unit of analysis, is rarely at an individual/micro level, although the role of individuals in the knowledge-sharing process is critical as tacit knowledge resides within the individual and knowledge sharing starts with individuals. Given the importance of understanding knowledge sharing of individuals in knowledge-intensive businesses – but noting the lack of existing systematic, integrated research that focuses on individual-related factors influencing knowledge sharing – the purpose of this study was to fill the gap in the current literature. As such, the primary objective of this research was to identify and empirically investigate the individual-related factors influencing the Knowledge-sharing intention of individual employees in knowledge-intensive businesses. The literature review revealed twelve constructs, namely Individuals’ awareness, Intrinsic motivation, Extrinsic motivation, Transactional psychological contract breach, Relational psychological contract breach, Relationship conflict, Task conflict, Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness to experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness that could influence the dependent variable Knowledge-sharing intention in knowledge-intensive businesses. Various moderating relationships between the dependent and independent variables were also proposed, while seven demographic variables (Age, Gender, Language, Highest qualification, Ethnic background, Organisational tenure and Job tenure of the respondent) were identified as potential control variables. Each construct in the hypothesised model of individual-related factors influencing Knowledge-sharing intention was defined and operationalised using items sourced from validated measuring instruments in previous studies. Several self-generated items based on secondary sources were also formulated. A structured questionnaire was made available to respondents identified by means of the convenience sampling technique, and the data collected from 597 usable questionnaires was subjected to various statistical analyses. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted which confirmed the unique factors present in the data, and Cronbach-alpha coefficients were calculated to confirm the reliability of the measuring instrument. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was the main statistical procedure used to test the significance of the relationships hypothesised between the various independent and dependent variables. A subset of SEM, namely general linear modelling (GLM) was used to determine the influence of selected demographic variables on Knowledge-sharing intention and to assess various moderating relationships as proposed in the hypothesised model. The main findings of this study were that personality traits are strong predictors of individual employees‟ willingness to share knowledge, and that the maturity of individuals, in terms of realising the significance and value of sharing their knowledge with others, and in recognising the intrinsic benefits of sharing, influence Knowledge-sharing intention. The main limitations of the study were the use of a convenience sampling technique to collect the data, as well as the dependence of self-report by respondents, which could lead to response bias. This study has added to the body of knowledge management research, in particular knowledge-sharing research, by investigating selected individual-related factors influencing the Knowledge-sharing intention of individuals in a particular subset of businesses, namely knowledge-intensive businesses, and focusing on a particular type of knowledge, namely tacit knowledge. From a business‟s perspective, this study offers recommendations and suggestions for managing these individual-related factors in such a way as to increase knowledge sharing among employees, and as a result, the effectiveness and competitive advantage of knowledge-intensive businesses.