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1 – 10 of over 165000Yousra Harb, Ali Zahrawi, Issa Shehabat and Zuopeng (Justin) Zhang
Sharing knowledge of physicians in hospitals is critical and significant in terms of providing better healthcare services. Despite the significance of knowledge sharing in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Sharing knowledge of physicians in hospitals is critical and significant in terms of providing better healthcare services. Despite the significance of knowledge sharing in the healthcare setting, very few studies have empirically investigated knowledge sharing drivers among physicians. Particularly, the process of knowledge sharing through the interplay between individual characteristics, knowledge characteristics, and intention in a healthcare setting has received very little empirical support. In this study, the authors draw upon personality traits and knowledge characteristics theories to develop a theoretical model to empirically examine the effect of individual characteristics and knowledge characteristics on physicians' knowledge sharing behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 215 physicians from 20 hospitals in Jordan, the authors conducted data analysis using the partial least squares statistical technique.
Findings
The study revealed that the personality traits (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness) significantly influence physician intention to share knowledge. Knowledge characteristic (Situatedness) was also found to affect the intention to share knowledge.
Originality/value
Very little is known about the effect of individual characteristics and knowledge characteristics on knowledge sharing behavior among physicians. The study contributes to the related literature by empirically investigating how individual characteristics and knowledge characteristics influence physicians' knowledge sharing behavior. The findings add to the understanding of the role of personality traits and knowledge characteristics in physicians' intention to share knowledge and give important insights for practice and theory.
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Tomislav Hernaus and Josip Mikulić
The purpose of this paper is to investigate a specific pattern of relationships among various task, knowledge and social characteristics of work design and work outcomes. It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate a specific pattern of relationships among various task, knowledge and social characteristics of work design and work outcomes. It clearly shows how particular work characteristics influence task and contextual performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical research was conducted through a field survey of the largest Croatian organizations with more than 500 employees. A cross-sectional and cross-occupational sample of 512 knowledge workers from 48 organizations is analyzed by applying the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
The results confirmed the existence and importance of the interaction between work characteristics and work outcomes. However, the findings suggest that only knowledge characteristics of work design exhibit a significant effect on both dimensions of work behavior, while task and social characteristics showed different effects on task and contextual performance, respectively.
Practical implications
The research findings clearly show that work design efforts are not straightforward but rather context-specific, and with diverging performance effects. Organizations can significantly enhance their bottom-line performance by designing challenging and cognitively demanding configurations of work tasks for their knowledge workers.
Originality/value
The paper extends previous research by capturing a broader set of work characteristics of knowledge workers. The results suggest that different categories of work characteristics have different effects on task and contextual performance. By revealing the nature of work design in the central and eastern European context, this study indicates the existence of possible differences in work design practices in various backgrounds.
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Yuwen Cen, Changfeng Wang and Yaqi Huang
In recent years, counterproductive knowledge behavior (CKB) and its types have received increasing interest in knowledge management as the degree of knowledge sharing and…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, counterproductive knowledge behavior (CKB) and its types have received increasing interest in knowledge management as the degree of knowledge sharing and innovation in enterprises continues to increase. A rapidly growing number of studies have shed light on the important antecedents and consequences of employees’ CKB. However, the various labels, conceptualizations and operationalizations of CKB have fragmented this body of research. This study aims to systematically integrate the effects of the six types of organizational characteristics on CKB and further draws more general conclusions based on the results of previous studies.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a survey of 103 effect values responsible for 52 CKB samples, the authors use the ABC theory to explore the effects of the six types of organizational characteristics on CKB. Moderator analysis were performed to resolve inconsistencies in empirical studies and understand the contexts under which CKB has the strongest or weakest effect.
Findings
The results showed that task interdependence and a positive organizational atmosphere, in general, negatively affect employees’ CKB in the moderation analysis. In contrast, workplace discomfort, negative organizational atmosphere, internal competition and time pressure positively and partly affect employees’ CKB. The direction and magnitude of these effects were affected by emotional factors, knowledge personnel types and sample sources. Discussing the theoretical, methodological and practical implications of these findings can offer a guiding framework for future research.
Originality/value
Better control of employees’ CKB is not achieved by adjusting organizational characteristics alone but by combining personal characteristics and mood changes with it to balance organizational characteristics and CKB. Furthermore, the large-sample joint study integrated the conceptual definition of CKB. The multivariate data study provided more reliable conclusions and a solid theoretical foundation for CKB research areas.
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Knowledge withholding is an important but under-studied topic, which refers to the phenomenon that individuals give less than full effort to contributing knowledge. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge withholding is an important but under-studied topic, which refers to the phenomenon that individuals give less than full effort to contributing knowledge. This study aims to investigate the differential effects of task characteristics on individuals’ knowledge withholding behavior in online space, this study develops and empirically verifies a theoretical model that covers the five core task characteristics in job characteristics model (autonomy, identity, feedback, skill variety and significance), knowledge sharing self-inefficacy and withholding effort in sharing knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an online survey method, this study collected empirical data from 351 general internet users from 30 provincial administrative units in China. The data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique of partial least squares.
Findings
The analysis results indicate that autonomy negatively affects, while identity, skill variety and significance positively affect users’ knowledge withholding behavior in online space through the mediation of knowledge sharing self-inefficacy, and that three task characteristics (autonomy, identity and feedback) strengthen the relationship between knowledge sharing self-inefficacy and knowledge withholding.
Practical implications
This study provides valuable insights for reducing knowledge withholding behavior in online space. Operationally, different levels of task characteristics such as autonomy, identity and feedback can be set to prevent users from perceiving themselves as inefficacious, and to weaken the behavioral expression of knowledge sharing self-inefficacy.
Originality/value
This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the differential effects of task characteristics on knowledge withholding in online space, and improves the cognition of the boundaries of withholding effort in sharing knowledge in online space.
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Hao Shen, Ziye Li and Xiuyun Yang
The purpose of this paper is to address important but unresolved questions regarding how different knowledge transfer processes and characteristics affect knowledge transfer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address important but unresolved questions regarding how different knowledge transfer processes and characteristics affect knowledge transfer effectiveness (KTE). This study, which draws on an integrative knowledge management framework, forces us to reconsider successful knowledge transfer within organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study were obtained through an interview survey of 117 firms in China. The questionnaire was adapted from several previous studies on processes, characteristics, and effectiveness of knowledge transfer. A regression method was conducted to test all hypotheses.
Findings
The findings show that both structured and unstructured knowledge processes has positive effects on KTE. Furthermore, knowledge embeddedness and articulability differently moderate the relationship between transfer processes and effectiveness.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to knowledge management theory by providing an integrative framework on how organizations can facilitate KTE by conducting appropriate transfer processes aligned with differentiated knowledge characteristics. Further, this study investigates the “fit” between knowledge transfer processes and characteristics.
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Jana Matošková, Ottó Bartók and Lucie Tomancová
Knowledge sharing becomes crucial in today’s competitive world to foster organizational performance. This paper aims to explore which employee characteristics facilitate knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge sharing becomes crucial in today’s competitive world to foster organizational performance. This paper aims to explore which employee characteristics facilitate knowledge sharing in the organizations and to examine the dimensions of these characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Opinion-based questionnaires among employees in Czech companies were applied. The research design in this study was cross-sectional. The hypotheses were tested by Pearson’s correlations and regression analyses.
Findings
The findings support the idea that specific individual employee characteristics increase knowledge sharing in the organization. Four categories of potentially appropriate employee individual characteristics were suggested: social and communication skills; positive work feelings; competences for problem-solving; and employee’s self-efficacy. However, only employee’s positive work feelings and self-efficacy significantly predicted the extent of knowledge sharing in the organization.
Practical implications
The findings offer a basis for future research. The results of the study can be used in recruiting new employees and managerial decision-making. The recruitment methods and the selection methods deployed should enable the firm to attract those whose values are in harmony with the organization’s values. Managers should build a work environment that promotes greater and more trusting ties among employees via organizing social activities for employees, a supervisor’s acceptance of an employee’s autonomy and responsibility and increasing employees’ confidence in their abilities.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to investigate dimensions of employee knowledge-oriented characteristics. It supports the idea that some individual employee characteristics boost spontaneous knowledge sharing behaviour.
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Xiaoyu Chen, Alton Y.K. Chua and L.G. Pee
This study explores identity signaling used by an emerging class of knowledge celebrities in China – Knowledge Wanghong – who sell knowledge products on online platforms. Because…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores identity signaling used by an emerging class of knowledge celebrities in China – Knowledge Wanghong – who sell knowledge products on online platforms. Because identity signaling may involve constructing unique online identities and controlling over product-related and seller-related characteristics, the purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to uncover different online identities of knowledge celebrities; and (2) to examine the extent to which the online identity type is associated with their product-related characteristics, seller-related characteristics and sales performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A unique data set was collected from a Chinese leading pay-for-knowledge platform – Zhihu – which featured the online profiles of tens of thousands of knowledge celebrities. Online identity types were derived from their self-edited content using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling. Thereafter, their product-related characteristics, seller-related characteristics and respective sales performance were analyzed across different identity types using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple-group linear regression.
Findings
Knowledge celebrities are clustered into four distinctive online identities: Mentor, Broker, Storyteller and Geek. Product-related characteristics, sell-related characteristics and sales performance varied across four different identities. Additionally, the online identity type moderated the relationships among their product-related characteristics, sell-related characteristics and sales performance.
Originality/value
As emerging-phenomenon-based research, this study extends related literature by using the notion of identity signaling to analyze a peculiar group of online celebrities who are setting an important trend in the pay-for-knowledge model in China.
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Thomas Hutzschenreuter and Julian Horstkotte
Firms at the center of an organizational network may benefit from educating and building up competencies of their partners. For that reason, centers often seek to transfer…
Abstract
Purpose
Firms at the center of an organizational network may benefit from educating and building up competencies of their partners. For that reason, centers often seek to transfer knowledge from the center to partner firms. They even set up systems of inter‐organizational knowledge transfer to plan, to coordinate, and to control such transfers on a firm level instead of managing single knowledge transfer projects individually. However, little systematic attention has yet been paid to such systems on a firm level. This paper seeks to analyze the managerial mechanism to decide what knowledge to transfer to what partners.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this gap, data were gathered on nine leading multinational center firms. An explorative approach was adopted using case study research to look at the characteristics of network centers, network partners, knowledge, transfer channels, and programmes.
Findings
It was found that center firms offered knowledge transfer products to partners and set up portfolios of knowledge transfer programmes targeted at specific partner groups. There is further elaboration on fundamental decisions on the programmes' design, communication, access, and pricing.
Originality/value
The research contributes to shed light on how center firms manage knowledge transfer activities from the center to partners on the firm level and how they structure it in the form of programmes. Therefore, the paper does not focus on the management of knowledge transfer in particular partnerships or networks, but also considers interdependencies between individual knowledge transfer initiatives.
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Shih-Chieh Fang, Chen-Wei Yang and Wen-Yen Hsu
The main purposes of this study are to develop a knowledge governance mechanism-fit-barrier matrix mode to resolve transfer problems resulting from knowledge characteristics and…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purposes of this study are to develop a knowledge governance mechanism-fit-barrier matrix mode to resolve transfer problems resulting from knowledge characteristics and to clarify the relationship among knowledge characteristics, barriers of knowledge transfer, and effective knowledge transfer in inter-organizational contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The vast literature on knowledge transfer in inter-organizational context has been reviewed. Moreover, to develop a theoretical framework, the authors developed a set of arguments based on literature pertaining to the knowledge-based view of knowledge characteristics and barriers and the response of network to inter-organizational knowledge transfer.
Findings
Knowledge-based view of knowledge characteristics and barriers and knowledge governance may provide a new understanding for network organizations seeking effective knowledge transfer strategies in inter-organizational context.
Research limitations/implications
The main contribution to organizational theory is extending information-processing theory to form a new strategic model for inter-organizational knowledge transfer.
Practical implications
The fit model of governance mechanisms may help managers to make effective strategies for inter-organizational knowledge transfer.
Originality/value
Theoretically, this paper extends Information Processing Theory to inter-organizational relationships research. The developed model here also helps to explain the importance of cognitive dimensions for successful inter-organizational knowledge transfer. In KM practice, the proposed well-developed strategic models may help managers to link inter-organizational knowledge transfer processes to business strategy, and validate of the way to convert the goal of making their network organizations more intelligent into a strategic action.
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The purpose of this study is to examine knowledge-sharing phenomena from the perspective of recipients’ characteristics. Specifically, this study examines the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine knowledge-sharing phenomena from the perspective of recipients’ characteristics. Specifically, this study examines the influence of knowledge recipients’ competence, learning attitude and personal relationship with knowledge sharer on knowledge sharers’ willingness to share.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted two studies, a scenario experimental study and a field survey study to test their hypotheses about the effects of recipients’ characteristics on knowledge sharers’ willingness to share.
Findings
The results revealed that recipients’ characteristics play different roles in different situations (responsive and proactive knowledge sharing) in triggering the knowledge sharers’ motivation to share. In responsive knowledge sharing, a recipient’s learning attitude and personal relationship with the knowledge sharer affected the sharer’s willingness to share. In proactive knowledge sharing, a recipient’s professional ability and personal relationship with the sharer significantly affected the sharer’s willingness to share.
Research limitations/implications
The scenario experiment may suffer from the problem of social desirability and the external validity; this study only focuses on the simple main effect of knowledge recipients’ characteristics.
Practical implications
First, managers should encourage employees to seek information and knowledge from other colleagues, and organizations could provide support for their interaction. Second, managers need to consider the composition of team members. Third, team managers may encourage each member to develop their own special skill or knowledge. Fourth, managers could make some efforts to develop a climate of trust among employees.
Social implications
Some organization can also use practice like recognition of internal copyright or patent to protect employees’ new ideas or knowledge.
Originality/value
First, this study clarifies the relationship between knowledge sharing and other working behaviors. Second, this study contributes to the understanding of how episodic factors affect working behaviors, which has been given little attention in previous research.
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