Search results
1 – 10 of over 11000Shakiba Kazemian and Susan B. Grant
The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors influencing knowledge sharing on enterprise social network (ESN) use behaviour among academic staff in universities, using the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors influencing knowledge sharing on enterprise social network (ESN) use behaviour among academic staff in universities, using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as the underlying research framework
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual framework was created by extending the UTAUT by incorporating three additional factors, namely, feature value (FV), relationship expectancy (RE) and professional benefits. A quantitative approach based on the survey was used to collect data from 254 academic staff. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The result indicated significant differences around factors influencing both consumptive and contributive usage patterns within ESNs. These factors suggest more contributive than consumptive use.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should consider a longitudinal study focusing on the change in ESN use behaviour among academic staff and the fundamental aspects influencing this change.
Originality/value
This study extends the UTAUT model by incorporating three additional factors: FV, RE and professional benefits, to study ESN use behaviour in a higher education context. This study has significantly modified UTAUT to include the dynamic nature of ESN usage.
Details
Keywords
Shakiba Kazemian and Susan Barbara Grant
The paper aims to explore “content” factors influencing consumptive and contributive use of enterprise social networking within UK higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore “content” factors influencing consumptive and contributive use of enterprise social networking within UK higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology uses genre analysis and grounded theory to analyse empirical data from posts obtained through Microsoft Yammer and a focus group.
Findings
The findings reveal the motivators-outcomes-strategies and the barriers-outcomes-strategies of users. Motivators (M) include feature value, Information value, organizational requirement and adequate organizational and technical support. Barriers (B) include six factors, including resisting engagement on the online platform, emotional anxiety, loss of knowledge, the lack of organizational pressure, lack of content quality and lack of time. An Outcomes (O) framework reveals benefits and dis-benefits and strategies (S) relating to improving user engagement.
Practical implications
The research method and resultant model may serve as guidelines to higher educational establishments interested in motivating their staff and scholars around the use of enterprise social network (ESN) systems, especially during face-to-face restrictions.
Originality/value
This research study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic which provides a unique setting to examine consumptive and contributive user behaviour of ESN’s. Furthermore, the study develops a greater understanding of “content” factors leading to the benefits or dis-benefits of ESN use, drawing on user motivators, barriers and strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK education.
Details
Keywords
M.M. Mohamed Mufassirin, M.I. Rifkhan Ahamed, M.S. Mohamed Hisam and Mansoor Mohamed Fazil
Restrictions imposed on freedom of movement and interaction with others due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had the effect of causing many people, especially students, to become…
Abstract
Purpose
Restrictions imposed on freedom of movement and interaction with others due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had the effect of causing many people, especially students, to become addicted to social media. This study aims to investigate the effect of social media addiction on the academic performance of Sri Lankan government university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sampling technique was used to conduct a quantitative cross-sectional survey. The survey involved 570 respondents from nine state universities in Sri Lanka. The raw data from the completed questionnaires were coded and processed using SPSS for descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.
Findings
The findings of this study indicated that the overall time spent on social networking increased dramatically during COVID-19. Based on the results, this study found that there was no association between the time spent on social media and the academic performance of students before COVID-19 came on the scene. However, a significant association was found between the time spent on social media and students’ performance during the pandemic. The authors concluded that overblown social media use, leading to addiction, significantly negatively affects academic performance.
Originality/value
This study helps to understand the impact of social media use on the academic performance of students during COVID-19. Restrictions imposed by COVID-19 have changed the typical lifestyle of the students. Therefore, social media usage should be reassessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the study will comprise these new insights, and they may well show how to adapt social media to contribute to academic work in meaningful ways.
Details
Keywords
Muhammad Umar, Maqbool Hussain Sial, Syed Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Waseem Bari and Muhammad Ahmad
This paper aims to investigate the tacit knowledge-sharing framework among Pakistani academicians. The objective is to study trust and social networks as antecedents to foster…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the tacit knowledge-sharing framework among Pakistani academicians. The objective is to study trust and social networks as antecedents to foster tacit knowledge sharing with the mediating role of commitment. Furthermore, the moderating role of organizational knowledge-sharing culture is also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied a survey-based quantitative research design to test the proposed model. The nature of data are cross-sectional and collected with stratified random sampling among public sector higher education professionals of Pakistan. The total sample size for the present research is 247 respondents. The variance-based structural equation modeling technique by using Smart_PLS software is used for analysis.
Findings
Data analysis and results reveal that trust and social networks are significant predictors of tacit knowledge sharing among Pakistani academicians while commitment positively mediated the relationships. While the moderating role of organizational knowledge-sharing culture is also established.
Research limitations/implications
The current research explains tacit knowledge sharing among academics with fewer antecedents i.e. social network and trust with limited sample size and specific population. There is still a great deal of work to be done in this area. Hence, the study provides direction for including knowledge-oriented leadership and knowledge governance in the current framework. Moreover, the framework can be tested in different work settings for better generalization.
Practical implications
The study gives an important lead to practitioners for enhancing tacit knowledge sharing at the workplace through a robust social network of employees, building trust and boosting employees’ commitment, as well as through supportive organizational knowledge sharing culture.
Originality/value
The research comprehends the tacit knowledge sharing framework with theoretical arrangements of trust, social networks, commitment and culture in higher education workplace settings under the umbrella of social capital theory.
Details
Keywords
Lei Li, Anrunze Li, Xue Song, Xinran Li, Kun Huang and Edwin Mouda Ye
As academic social Q&A networking websites become more popular, scholars are increasingly using them to meet their information needs by asking academic questions. However…
Abstract
Purpose
As academic social Q&A networking websites become more popular, scholars are increasingly using them to meet their information needs by asking academic questions. However, compared with other types of social media, scholars are less active on these sites, resulting in a lower response quantity for some questions. This paper explores the factors that help explain how to ask questions that generate more responses and examines the impact of different disciplines on response quantity.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examines 1,968 questions in five disciplines on the academic social Q&A platform ResearchGate Q&A and explores how the linguistic characteristics of these questions affect the number of responses. It uses a range of methods to statistically analyze the relationship between these linguistic characteristics and the number of responses, and conducts comparisons between disciplines.
Findings
The findings indicate that some linguistic characteristics, such as sadness, positive emotion and second-person pronouns, have a positive effect on response quantity; conversely, a high level of function words and first-person pronouns has a negative effect. However, the impacts of these linguistic characteristics vary across disciplines.
Originality/value
This study provides support for academic social Q&A platforms to assist scholars in asking richer questions that are likely to generate more answers across disciplines, thereby promoting improved academic communication among scholars.
Details
Keywords
Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu, Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Violeta-Mihaela Dincă and Dan-Cristian Dabija
The study sets out to explore the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC) dimensions (i.e. human, structural and relational) between scholars' affiliation to online academic…
Abstract
Purpose
The study sets out to explore the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC) dimensions (i.e. human, structural and relational) between scholars' affiliation to online academic networks and institutional knowledge capitalization. Online academic networks are tackled through the lens of knowledge networks which have been of primary importance for new relevant knowledge acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire-based survey of 305 academics from 35 different countries was conducted from July to December 2021, employing a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique. The database was initially filtered to ensure the adequacy of the sample, and data were analyzed using the statistics software package SmartPLS 3.0.
Findings
Evidence was brought forward that the proposed conceptual model accounted for 52.5% of the variance in institutional knowledge capitalization, the structural and relational capital availed by knowledge networks exerting strong positive influence on the dependent variable.
Research limitations/implications
The study has both research and managerial implications in that it approaches a topical phenomenon, namely the capitalization of online academic networks in the COVID-19 context, which has dramatically altered the way that research and teaching are conducted worldwide.
Originality/value
The most important contribution of the paper resides in the comprehensive research model advanced which covers individual, organizational and network multifaced layers, starting with the personal and institutional motives to join a specialized network, continuing with the opportunities provided by knowledge networks in terms of intellectual capital harnessing, and ending with its influence on higher education organizations.
Details
Keywords
Abdul Baquee, Rathinam Sevukan and Sumeer Gul
The current study seeks to investigate, why and how faculty members of Indian central universities are using academic social networking sites (ASNs) for research communication and…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study seeks to investigate, why and how faculty members of Indian central universities are using academic social networking sites (ASNs) for research communication and information dissemination, as well as validate and update the results of previous scholarship in this area. To achieve this, the paper uses structural equation model (SEM).
Design/methodology/approach
A simple random sampling method was adopted. Online survey was conducted using a well-designed questionnaire circulated via email id among 3384 faculty members of Indian Central Universities. A SEM was designed and tested with International Business Machines (IBM) Amos. Apart from this, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 22 and Microsoft Excel 2010 were also used for data screening and analysis.
Findings
The study explores that most of the respondents are in favour of using the ASNs/tools for their professional activities. The study also found that a large chunk of the respondents used ASNs tools during day time. Apart from it, more number of faculty members used ASNs in research work than general purpose. No significant differences were found among the disciplines in use behaviour of ASNs in scholarly communication. Three hypotheses have been accepted while two were rejected in this study.
Research limitations/implications
The study was confined to the twelve central universities, and only 312 valid responses were taken into consideration in this study.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates the faculty members’ use behaviour of ASNs in their research communication. The study also contributes new knowledge to methodological discussions as it is the first known study to employ SEM to interpret scholarly use of ASNs by faculty members of Indian central universities.
Details
Keywords
Norazha Paiman, Muhammad Ashraf Fauzi, Natrika Norizan, Aida Abdul Rashid, Christine Nya-Ling Tan, Walton Wider, Kamalesh Ravesangar and Gowri Selvam
The research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex social, psychological and organizational factors that serve as the foundation driving academics'…
Abstract
Purpose
The research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex social, psychological and organizational factors that serve as the foundation driving academics' knowledge-sharing behavior (KSB) within an academic enclave.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional research design using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was employed to examine the determinants of personality traits among tertiary academics in Malaysia in relation to their KSB. To this end, a self-administered survey was distributed to a sample group of 526 respondents.
Findings
It is evident that conscientiousness and agreeableness are the personality traits that play a significant role in promoting KSB among academics in higher learning institutions (HLIs). These personality traits are positively linked with academics' willingness to transfer and receive knowledge. In contrast, the personality trait of openness to experience does not significantly influence KSB.
Research limitations/implications
This study has employed a four-item measurement for evaluating the three distinct personality traits. Despite employing a brief measurement tool, the study has demonstrated significant reliability and validity, particularly in terms of convergent and discriminant validity.
Practical implications
The present study has revealed that conscientiousness in academics is intimately linked with their KSB, which is of paramount importance in the output-based education system. Notably, agreeableness among academics also conveys a positive effect on knowledge sharing (KS) in HLIs, as it cultivates trust and helpfulness among individuals and facilitates the exchange of valuable tacit knowledge.
Originality/value
This research explores the relationship between personality traits and KSB among Malaysian academics in HLIs. The study adopts the theories of planned behavior (TPB) and social capital theory (SCT) as theoretical ground, providing a nuanced understanding of the underlying motivations and mechanisms driving academics' knowledge-sharing behavior within the unique socio-cultural context of Southeast Asia.
Details
Keywords
Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu, Constantin Bratianu, Dan-Cristian Dabija and Simona Popa
This paper aims to explore the relationships among several key constructs which link the individual’s motivation for knowledge acquisition to his affiliation with online knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the relationships among several key constructs which link the individual’s motivation for knowledge acquisition to his affiliation with online knowledge networks, to further access the intellectual capital of the network as a prerequisite for organizational achievement.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey with 227 members of higher education and research centers from 30 countries was carried out between July and September 2021. The data were analyzed by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling technique, using the statistics software package SmartPLS 3.0.
Findings
Individual motivation to acquire knowledge has a significant influence on the affiliation with online academic networks approached as online knowledge networks. Further, active engagement with the network’s intangible resources leads to a significant harnessing of the three-component intellectual capital, that is, human, structural and relational capital. Human and relational capital is proven to exert a significant effect on organizational achievements, whereas structural capital falls short of reporting a meaningful influence on the dependent variable.
Research limitations/implications
This research adds new knowledge to the capitalization of online knowledge networks and its influence on organizational achievements via intellectual capital.
Originality/value
A novel perspective is advanced in which online knowledge networks are acknowledged as a pivotal bond and nonlinear integrator between the individual level of knowledge fields and organizational knowledge leveraged into organizational achievements.
Details