Willingness to Share Knowledge Compared with Selected Social Psychology Theories

Abstract

Knowledge is one of the key determinants in the growth and competitiveness of modern enterprises. Hence, it is essential to analyse the factors that induce employees to exchange knowledge. The problem of sharing an intangible asset — in this case, the knowledge of individuals — can be viewed from many perspectives: psychological, economic, organisational, sociological and technological. The aim of this article is to explore selected social psychology theories and to analyse the incentives for people to share knowledge. The article attempts to interpret the willingness to share knowledge through the Social Exchange Theory, the Social Impact Theory, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. This analysis leads to the following conclusions: •we share our knowledge and expect a return; •we share our knowledge when we believe that the benefits of this action outweigh the costs; •we are pushed to share knowledge by the power of empathy; •workers’ willingness to share knowledge is influenced by three social processes: subordination, identification and internalisation; •the decision to share knowledge is preceded by an intention formed under the influence of an individual attitude towards that behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control; and •the decision to share knowledge is also influenced by additional components, including the knowledge and skills to implement this behaviour, environmental limitations, behavioural emphasis and habits

The Enjoyment of Knowledge Sharing: Impact of Altruism on Tacit Knowledge-Sharing Behavior

“…They are, therefore, susceptible to incentives and act under the condition of reciprocity. In line with social exchange theory, willingness to share knowledge is high under the expectancy of reciprocal benefits, and it necessarily includes interpersonal trust as a form of insurance that payoffs will be received in the future (Tohidinia and Mosakhani, 2010;Krok, 2013;Kuo, 2013;Loebbecke et al, 2016). Willing individuals are prepared to take the initiative, provided that others do the same.…”

“…Mutual exchange happens in trusting relationships with coworkers built over time. Whereas this reciprocity proves to be beneficial to employees, it also becomes useful to the organization (Tohidinia and Mosakhani, 2010;Krok, 2013;Kuo, 2013;Loebbecke et al, 2016). For instance, the reciprocal relationship between the protégé and mentor builds the relationship between the protégé and the organization (Curtis and Taylor, 2018).…”

Factors influencing knowledge sharing among academics in Bowen University, Nigeria

“…In order to promote and enable knowledge sharing, managers need to understand the motivations that drive individuals to contribute their valuable knowledge (Liang et al, 2008). Due to this reason and to the importance of knowledge for the development and competitiveness of enterprises in the information age, knowledge management theoreticians and practitioners analyse sharing this strategic, nonmaterial commodity from numerous perspectives, trying to identify both the barriers to and factors favouring knowledge exchange (Krok, 2013). Bock et al (2005) argued that even though knowledge sharing among individuals has been recognised as a positive force for the survival of an organisation, the factors that promote or discourage knowledge-sharing intention and success in the organisational context are still poorly understood.…”

“…As stated above, different behavioural and social theories have been used to explain the factors that affect knowledge sharing in different organisational contexts. Two theories of behaviour that have been used for investigating in the context of knowledge sharing are the theory of reasoned action (TRA) by Fishbein and Ajzen and its expanded version, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (Jolaee et al, 2014; Krok, 2013). The theory of reasoned action posits that individual beliefs and attitudes explain most human behaviours (Lin, 2007a).…”

“…TRA assumes individuals to be rational and suggests that their behaviour is being influenced by three elements, namely attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norms and behavioural intention (Jolaee et al, 2014). Similarly, according to the theory of planned behaviour, every behaviour is preceded by a deliberate intention to do something, which is shaped by the individual’s attitude towards that behaviour, a subjective norm and a perceived behavioural control (Krok, 2013). However, both the TRA and TPB are used for anticipating planned, deliberate human behaviour rather than spontaneous behaviour that occurs as a result of a sudden external factor (Krok, 2013).…”