Understanding the Impact of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation on Knowledge Sharing

Organisations invest heavily in knowledge management technologies and initiatives which are entirely dependent on the willingness of employees to share their knowledge. Educational and reward programs need to be informed by an understanding of what motivates people to share their knowledge at work. Prior research based on motivational theories suggests the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to encourage voluntary pro-social behaviours such as knowledge sharing. However, the literature on motivation in the context of knowledge sharing is still emerging and fragmented. This research-in-progress paper therefore proposes an integrated model that brings together theoretical insights from motivational research to explain the influence of key intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on knowledge sharing. Then the paper reports the results of the assessment of the model based on data collected across 8 organisations in New Zealand. The preliminary discussion of the results contributes to the understanding of motivational factors influencing attitude and intention to share knowledge and their relative importance

An investigation of the impact of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators on organisational knowledge sharing

A major challenge for knowledge management concerns motivating people to share their knowledge with others. Many companies address this challenge by implementing sophisticated knowledge management systems. However, despite investments in knowledge management systems and practices, significant failure rates are being reported. Studies show that an important reason for this is that people are often reluctant to share their personal knowledge. It is therefore key for companies to understand the factors that influence employee attitudes toward knowledge sharing. Previous research on motivation has attempted to understand employee attitudes, intentions and behavior in relation to organizational knowledge sharing. However, few studies have provided a comprehensive model that includes a key set of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators for knowledge sharing, such as self-efficacy, meaningfulness, impact, tangible rewards, verbal rewards, anticipated reciprocal benefits and reputation and examined their relationship with knowledge sharing attitude and intention. The objective of this research is to fill that gap by investigating how the salient intrinsic and extrinsic motivators influence knowledge sharing attitude and intention. From an extensive review of the literature, a research model was proposed and hypotheses were developed to explore the answers to the research questions. Data was collected through a survey in organizations in New Zealand and Partial Least Squares Path Modeling was used to analyze the data. Empirical results showed intention to share knowledge was determined by attitude towards knowledge sharing and self-efficacy, meaningfulness, anticipated reciprocal relationships and reputation had a significant impact on the attitude towards knowledge sharing. This research contributes to the knowledge sharing literature by providing a comprehensive model of knowledge sharing motivators, including motivators that have been largely ignored in prior studies, and by empirically examining the influence of the key intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on attitude towards knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this research benefits companies that are using or setting up knowledge management systems and practices by allowing them to better understand how to encourage employees to engage in knowledge sharing

Understanding the Impact of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation on Knowledge Sharing

Organisations invest heavily in knowledge management technologies and initiatives which are entirely dependent on the willingness of employees to share their knowledge. Educational and reward programs need to be informed by an understanding of what motivates people to share their knowledge at work. Prior research based on motivational theories suggests the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to encourage voluntary pro-social behaviours such as knowledge sharing. However, the literature on motivation in the context of knowledge sharing is still emerging and fragmented. This research-in-progress paper therefore proposes an integrated model that brings together theoretical insights from motivational research to explain the influence of key intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on knowledge sharing. Then the paper reports the results of the assessment of the model based on data collected across 8 organisations in New Zealand. The preliminary discussion of the results contributes to the understanding of motivational factors influencing attitude and intention to share knowledge and their relative importance

An Investigation Of Intrinsic Motivators For Organisational Knowledge Sharing

Large investments into sophisticated knowledge management systems and repositories are not sufficient to transfer the knowledge held by individuals to organizational level. People are often reluctant to share their knowledge for various reasons, and a culture of knowledge hoarding is one of the largest obstacles to knowledge management. Since knowledge is personal, people cannot be forced to share their knowledge. Other ways have to be found to encourage people to voluntarily share their knowledge and support the systems in place. Prior research suggests that intrinsic motivators may be particularly important in encouraging voluntary behaviours such as knowledge sharing. This research-in-progress paper therefore proposes a conceptual model that brings together theoretical insights from motivational research, self-determination theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action to explain the influence of key intrinsic motivators (i.e. autonomy, self-efficacy, meaningfulness and impact) on knowledge sharing. The results are expected to indicate which of the motivators are most important in explaining knowledge sharing attitude, and behaviour

Sociaal schaduwwerk

Sociaal schaduwwerk heeft betrekking op een variant van informeel sociaal werk. Het gaat om het werk van actoren die geen deel uitmaken van het formele sociale landschap, maar die in de praktijk wel degelijk activiteiten ontwikkelen die overeenkomen met sociaal werk zoals dat internationaal is gedefinieerd. De toevoeging van de term ‘schaduw’ maakt dat het hier niet gaat om informele praktijken in brede zin. Het gaat specifiek om informeel sociaal werk dat buiten beeld van veel professionele instanties en de lokale overheid plaatsvindt. In het professionele– en overheidsdomein bestaat vaak onbekendheid met deze vorm van informeel sociaal werk. Dat komt omdat sociaal schaduwwerk wordt verricht door spelers waarvan de buitenwereld dit niet direct verwacht, omdat zij primair bekend staan om andere foci en functies. Spelers in het sociaal schaduwwerk zijn bijvoorbeeld burgerinitiatieven, etnisch/culturele zelforganisaties, levensbeschouwelijke organisaties of sociaal sportieve praktijken. In het formele domein is vaak sprake van wantrouwen en vooroordelen over de ondersteuning die in dit soort particuliere of informele settings wordt verleend. Vooral levensbeschouwelijke organisaties worden vanuit het formele domein en de bredere samenleving nogal eens door een integratielens beoordeeld. De vrees voor zogenaamde ‘parallelle samenlevingen’ of ‘gesloten bolwerken’ voedt het wantrouwen. Empirisch onderzoek – zowel in Nederland als daarbuiten- toont aan dat die vrees veelal ongegrond is