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This study aims to empirically examine how the perception of social capital in work teams motivates individuals to proactively seek tacit knowledge from teammates and the subsequent impact on individual creative performance. In addition, it offers an empirical validation of interrelationships between the different sub-dimensions of social capital.

A questionnaire-based survey was used, and data were collected from 437 professionals working in the information technology (IT) sector. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS 22 was used for hypothesis testing.

As per the findings of the study, all social capital dimensions, except shared language and benevolence-based trust, demonstrate a significant positive influence on tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour of employees. The results also provide evidence that point to a significant positive relationship between tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour and the creative performance of employees. Further, a significant positive interrelationship between different social capital dimensions is confirmed.

As per the findings of the study, all social capital dimensions, except shared language and benevolence-based trust, demonstrate a significant positive influence on tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour of employees. The results also provide evidence that point to a significant positive relationship between tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour and the creative performance of employees. Further, a significant positive interrelationship between different social capital dimensions is confirmed.

This research aims to explore the factors that affect the adoption of Web 2.0 among knowledge workers. The research specifically investigated the role of factors related to both knowledge seeking and knowledge sharing, in the context of Web 2.0 use by health care professionals.

For this research, a cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The data were analyzed using the partial least square-structural equation modeling.

The results confirmed that the intention to adopt Web 2.0 depends upon both the knowledge-seeking and the knowledge-sharing attitudes. However, between the two, it is knowledge-sharing factors that are more important. Health care professionals tend to share knowledge driven by intrinsic motivators rather than by extrinsic motivators. On the other hand, knowledge-seeking attitude was determined by usefulness of knowledge and was not affected by the effort involved.

All the respondents were health care professionals from India, and convenience sampling was used to reach them. This may limit the generalizability of the findings.

This research provides useful insights on implementing Web 2.0-based knowledge management systems, specifically for health care professionals. Particularly, it emphasizes the need to focus on reinforcing intrinsic motivators like self-efficacy and the joy of sharing.

It is perhaps the first study that integrates the factors related to knowledge sharing and seeking in a single theoretical model, thereby presents and tests a more realistic model of knowledge management.

This study aims to investigate how a knowledge-seeking organization’s awareness of valuable knowledge, and the motivation and capability to acquire the knowledge, influence attempts to acquire the knowledge. This study also aims to identify how knowledge-possessing organizations recognize the possibility of and craft strategies to prevent this knowledge leakage.

A process model is created and an empirical examination is performed to help knowledge-possessing organizations understand and identify situations where potential knowledge-seeking organizations will attempt to acquire valuable knowledge.

Knowledge-seeking organizations must be aware of valuable knowledge, and have the motivation and capability to acquire it in order to attempt to acquire the knowledge. Accordingly, knowledge-possessing organizations can inhibit awareness, motivation and capability of potential knowledge-seeking organizations to stave off and degrade knowledge acquisition attempts.

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides a comprehensive approach for researchers to hypothesize and empirically examine the factors most relevant to knowledge leakage. This approach expands the literature on absorptive capacity by increasing emphasis on awareness and motivation with regard to knowledge acquisition.

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides managers with the means to comprehensively assess the likelihood that other organizations will attempt to acquire their knowledge. It also helps managers determine efficient and effective ways to inhibit knowledge leakage.

The authors pioneer the application of the awareness, motivation and capability framework to knowledge leakage. The authors subsequently propose a process model and empirically examine the relationships pertaining to knowledge leakage and its prevention.

The purpose of this study is to understand factors that motivate an individual to seek knowledge on knowledge management systems. Specifically, the work seeks to clarify the impact of organizational practices on an individual’s intention to seek knowledge. The overarching theme is to broaden the current understanding of factors that impact individual knowledge seeking behavior and narrow down factors for which interventions can be developed.

In-depth interviews were conducted with the members of knowledge management (KM), human resources (HR) and learning and development teams of Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Private Limited (RBEI) to understand knowledge behaviors of employees. Subsequent to an exploratory analysis, the survey methodology was used to collect data from members of RBEI. A proposed theoretical model was then validated using partial least squares.

Empirical findings suggest that to motivate participation, organizational KM practices need to be geared towards promoting curiosity and engaging learners. Results indicate that overt recognition of knowledge seeking behaviors by HR could be counterproductive.

This study was limited to an MNC engineering organization in one geographic location; one must be cautious when generalizing these results. Replicating this study in multiple organizations will help mitigate this limitation.

Little is known on the effect of KM and HR practices on knowledge seeking behaviors. This work addresses this gap and presents a comprehensive model.

This study aims to examine the antecedents of knowledge-seeking intentions (SIs) and efforts within new product development (NPD) teams.

Data was collected from 331 employees affiliated with 29 NPD teams across 18 Chinese firms in five high-tech and knowledge-based industries via an online assessment and a survey. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to test the hypotheses using HLM and Mplus software.

The results of this study show that intrinsic task motivation (IM) and personal task experience (TE) positively relate to SIs, whereas leadership support (LS) and shared culture (SC) negatively relate to knowledge-seeking efforts (SEs). SIs partially mediate the relationship between IM and SEs, while they fully mediate the relationship between TE and SEs. Additionally, customer orientation (CO) positively moderates the relationship between SIs and SEs.

Data collection was completed online by relying on an existing version of the Abedi Creativity Test. The samples involve 18 companies in a High-Tech Development Zone in China, which indicates limited generalizability.

Effective NPD depends on successful marketing–R&D integration and knowledge exchange within the NPD team. Besides, organizations need to find ways to stimulate NPD team members’ IM and also through various ways to inspire more efforts from team members under the condition of supportive leadership and culture.

This study contributes to the knowledge management and marketing literature on NPD teamwork by examining knowledge-seeking phenomena from the perspective of the internal knowledge market and contributes to knowledge-seeking research by revealing the antecedents of SIs and SEs at both the individual and organizational level.

The purpose of this research paper is to show empirical evidence that supports a set of research proposition that was synthesized based on knowledge seeking and stakeholder literature. These propositions, which are related to the knowledge seeking strategies adopted by knowledge seekers and the knowledge stakeholder settings that exist in firms, are explored using the data collected from focus group discussions.

Data collected from focus group discussions were interpreted through qualitative content analysis, resulting in discussions and findings that deliver strategies for knowledge seekers who quest for tacit knowledge.

Empirical data from this study reveals strategies, ascertained from the context of three knowledge stakeholder including; powerful stakeholders, legitimate stakeholders and urgent stakeholders, each of which may be adopted in seeking tacit knowledge.

The study proposes to tackle the issue of human centric knowledge seeking from the perspective of stakeholder theory in organization context. Knowledge stakeholders, such as external customers and internal supportive staffs and co‐workers, are bearers of tacit knowledge and so identifying the knowledge stakeholders is crucial to leverage their knowledge for the firm's benefit.

Online Q&A communities have been widely highlighted as an important knowledge exchange market. Although motivations for users’ initial knowledge-seeking behavior have been widely investigated, the factors that affect online Q&A users’ continued knowledge-seeking behavior are still vague. This study aims to investigate the factors that affect users continuously seeking knowledge from online social Q&A communities.

Based on social information processing theory, social capital theory, social exchange theory and social cognitive theory, this study used a negative binomial regression model to explore what would affect people’s continued knowledge-seeking behavior. Empirical data was collected from a popular Chinese online social Q&A community.

The results indicate that while previous knowledge sharing behavior, peer responses for previous seeking behavior, identity-based trust have a positive impact on knowledge-seeking behaviors, social exposure has a negative impact. In addition, self-presentation negatively moderates the relationship between social exposure and knowledge-seeking behavior.

This study contributed to the theoretical basis for knowledge-seeking behavior in online Q&A communities. The research findings can be used to derive guidelines for the development and operation of online social Q&A communities.

With the development of Web 2.0 virtual communities, the authors see a useful platform for knowledge sharing. However, knowledge sharing in virtual communities still remains a big challenge given the concern of knowledge quantity and quality. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of individual differences on knowledge contributing, knowledge seeking, trust and norm of reciprocity. This study also explores the mean difference between knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing as well as the correlations between knowledge seeking, knowledge contributing, trust and reciprocity so as to provide some guidance for knowledge management practice in China.

Data collected from 430 users of Web 2.0 virtual communities were used for data analysis. The independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), paired samples t-test and correlation analysis were employed.

The independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA present the effect of individual differences on knowledge contributing, knowledge seeking, trust and norm of reciprocity. The paired samples t-test suggests that employees are more likely to seek knowledge from than contribute knowledge to Web 2.0 virtual communities. The correlation analysis suggests there are positive correlations between knowledge contributing, knowledge seeking, trust and reciprocity.

Knowledge management initiatives in Chinese organizations are encountered relatively less frequently, compared with western countries. The authors suggest the findings of this study provide useful insights into the informal knowledge sharing in Web 2.0 virtual communities, which is helpful for guiding knowledge management practice in China.

Based on knowledge quantity and knowledge quality whose significance cannot be over-emphasized in virtual communities, this study explores employee perceptions of Web 2.0 virtual communities from the perspective of knowledge sharing, which the authors think provides a new view for knowledge sharing research and practice alike in China.

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of benevolence-based, competence-based and integrity-based trust in peers on the employees’ voluntary knowledge contribution and knowledge seeking with them. In addition, this study aims to explore how engaging in knowledge-contribution and knowledge-seeking behavior with peers influences an individual’s creative performance at work.

A questionnaire-based survey was used and data were collected from 401 professionals working in information technology companies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

Benevolence-based trust and competence-based trust positively influence the extent to which individuals voluntarily engage in knowledge contribution and knowledge seeking with peers. Contrary to expectations, integrity-based trust has a negative effect on knowledge-seeking behavior at workplace. The results also provide evidence for a significant positive relationship between both types of knowledge sharing behavior and employees’ creative performance.

The present study differs from existing studies by offering a theoretical model that integrates different types of knowledge sharing, its antecedents and the differential impact on employee creativity. The model incorporates the knowledge-seeking dimension of individual knowledge sharing behavior, which has received relatively less attention in extant literature, and provides a conceptual comparison of different behavioral contexts in a single study. While prior studies have predominantly explored the antecedents of knowledge sharing, this study is among the few that have simultaneously looked into the outcomes of knowledge sharing at individual level.

Seekers who visit professional virtual communities (PVCs) are usually motivated by knowledge-seeking, which is a complex cognitive process. How do seekers search for knowledge, and how is their search linked to prior knowledge or PVC situation factors? From the cognitive process and interactional psychology perspectives, this study investigated the three-way interactions between seekers’ expertise, task complexity, and perceptions of PVC features (i.e. knowledge quality and system quality) on knowledge-seeking strategies and resultant outcomes.

A field experiment was conducted with 119 seekers in a PVC using a 2 × 2 factorial design of seekers’ expertise (i.e. expert versus novice) and task complexity (i.e. low versus high).

The study reveals three significant insights: (1) For a high-complexity task, experts adopt an ask-directed searching strategy compared to novices, whereas novices adopt a browsing strategy; (2) For a high-complexity task, experts who perceive a high system quality are more likely than novices to adopt an ask-directed searching strategy; and (3) Task completion time and task quality are associated with the adoption of ask-directed searching strategies, whereas knowledge seekers’ satisfaction is more associated with the adoption of browsing strategy.

We draw on the perspectives of cognitive process and interactional psychology to explore potential two- and three-way interactions of seekers’ expertise, task complexity, and PVC features on the adoption of knowledge-seeking strategies in a PVC context. Our findings provide deep insights into seekers’ behavior in a PVC, given the popularity of the search for knowledge in PVCs.