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

Abstract

Purpose This 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/approach The 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. Findings The 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/value No 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.

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“…As in team meetings or consultative procedures, knowledge sharing can be bi-or even multidirectional. Yet, knowledge sharing is defined in this study as the transfer of knowledge on an individual level in groups [25], [27].…”

“…As a result, knowledge sharing is a critical component of knowledge management. Individual and organizational learning, performance, job satisfaction, and innovative capabilities are all predicted by knowledge sharing [25,28]…”

Empowering Innovative Team Among Knowledge Workers: McClelland's Needs Theory with Rasch Model Analysis

“…Knowledge exchange among individuals, groups, units, or organizations is known as knowledge sharing. In this context, knowledge is commonly defined as information that has been selected and interpreted (Fischer 2022;Hussein et al 2019a;Mohajan 2019;Si Xue 2017). The word "knowledge sharing" is typically used to represent a one-way knowledge exchange.…”

“…Knowledge sharing can also be bi-or even multidirectional, as in team meetings or consultation processes. However, in this study, knowledge sharing is defined as the transfer of knowledge on an individual level in groups (Ahn and Kim 2017;Castaneda and Cuellar 2020;Fischer 2022;Si Xue 2017).…”