An Investigation of the Impact of Intrinsic Motivation on Organizational Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

Despite heavy investments in knowledge management systems, people are often reluctant to share their knowledge, with knowledge hoarding being one of the largest obstacles to effective knowledge management in organizations. This paper proposes a model that examines the role of intrinsic motivation in knowledge sharing. Bringing together insights from motivational research, Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action, the study investigates the links between intrinsic motivators and knowledge sharing. Survey data collected from knowledge workers are analyzed using partial least squares. The results show self-efficacy, meaningfulness and impact are important motivators of attitude towards knowledge sharing, which in turn impacts intention to share knowledge. The findings provide insights into employee motivations to share knowledge, and strategies for enhancing knowledge sharing in organizations.

Perceived Training Intensity and Knowledge Sharing Among Banking Sector Employees in Turkey: Examining the Moderating Role of Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy

“…found that perceived training intensity is positively related to knowledge sharing. Consistent with the findings of the studies of Bock and Kim (2002), Kankanhalli, Tan and Wei (2005), Bock et al (2005), Cabrera and Cabrera (2005), Cabrera et al (2006), Gagne (2009), Kuvaas et al (2012), O'Dell andGrayson (1998), Osterloh and Frey (2000), Stewart and Duggan (2006), Welschen, Todorova and Mills (2012), the findings of the present study also reveal that both intrinsic motivation and selfefficacy have positive impacts on knowledge sharing. Furthermore, the findings suggest that both intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy moderate the relationship between perceived training intensity and knowledge sharing.…”

“…(Spinath & Steinmayr, 2012, p.1135 or "behavior based on intangible rewards that arise from an individual's own personal values and motivations" (Janus, 2016, p.19). The importance of intrinsic motivators in knowledge sharing is recognized in a number of studies (Bock et al, 2005;Cabrera & Cabrera, 2005;Cabrera et al, 2006;Gagne, 2009, Kuvaas et al, 2012O'Dell & Grayson, 1998;Osterloh & Frey, 2000;Stewart & Duggan, 2006;Welschen, Todorova & Mills, 2012). Employees who are intrinsically motivated to share knowledge find the activity itself interesting, enjoying, and stimulating (Foss, Minbaeva, Pedersen & Reinholt, 2009, p.875).…”

Organizational culture and knowledge sharing: design of incentives and business processes

“…Incentive is considered as an important element in facilitating knowledge sharing and learning (Argote, McEvily, andReagans 2003, Ba, Stallaert, andWhinston 2001) due to three types of obstacles (individual/personal, organizational, and technological) for knowledge sharing (Riege 2005) with examples such as apprehension about failures (Hutchings and Michailova 2004), knowledge base compatibility (Ho and Ganesan 2013), cost of imitation and its inherent fuzziness (Cao and Xiang 2012), cross-cultural barriers (Ray 2014), and knowledge hoarding (Welschen, Todorova, and Mills 2012). Recent research continues to explore the role of incentives in knowledge management within organizations.…”

Intrinsic motivation for knowledge sharing – competitive intelligence process in a telecom company

“…The complexity of the subject induces researchers to explore some of the aspects in different organizational contexts where different behaviors may occur, as well as different elements that may influence knowledge sharing behavior. Not all studies make the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations when studying knowledge sharing intentions or behavior (Welschen et al, 2012;Pee and Lee, 2015).…”