A structural equation model for knowledge sharing behavior in an emerging economy

Purpose Knowledge sharing behaviour is becoming one of the main priorities in organizations operating in emerging economies, as knowledge sharing behaviour may impact their competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of: openness and trust; top management support; and the reward system on knowledge sharing behaviour. In addition, the paper investigates how knowledge sharing behaviour impacts firm’s competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach The analyses in this paper were based on data from more than 230 companies operating in five industries in an emerging economy in the Gulf area. Structural equation modelling (SEM) methodology was used to test the impact of the three independent latent variables of openness and trust, top management support and the reward system on the knowledge sharing behaviour as well as the impact of the later on firm’s competitiveness. Findings Exploratory factor as well as confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess the five dimensions of knowledge sharing behaviour and firm’s competitiveness. SEM was used to test the four main hypotheses in this study and to assess the structural relationships among these five latent variables. There was a moderate relationship between the knowledge sharing behaviour and the three independent latent variables of openness and trust; top management support; and the reward system. There was a strong positive association between knowledge sharing behaviour and firm’s competitiveness. Practical implications For academics, the paper offers an opportunity to further study knowledge sharing behaviour in other emerging economies. Academics who are interested in examining this issue further may extend our study in many directions. For practitioners, our findings should motivate practitioners to place emphasis on top management support, openness and trust and the reward system to create a proper culture for knowledge creation and sharing. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt in its purpose and design to study knowledge sharing behaviour in multiple industries in an emerging economy such as that of Saudi Arabia.

[1]  Donald Hislop,et al.  Mission impossible? Communicating and sharing knowledge via information technology , 2002, J. Inf. Technol..

[2]  Chris Brewster,et al.  ‘Hidden’ expatriates: international mobility in the United Arab Emirates as a challenge to current understanding of expatriation , 2017 .

[3]  I. Ajzen.  The theory of planned behavior , 1991 .

[4]  R. Ruggles.  The State of the Notion: Knowledge Management in Practice , 1998 .

[5]  H. Sabri,et al.  Knowledge management in its context: Adapting structure to a knowledge creating culture , 2005 .

[6]  Thomas H. Davenport,et al.  Book review:Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak. Harvard Business School Press, 1998. $29.95US. ISBN 0‐87584‐655‐6 , 1998 .

[7]  Raid Moh'd Al-adaileh,et al.  Organizational Culture Impact on Knowledge Exchange: Saudi Telecom Context , 2011, J. Knowl. Manag..

[8]  H. D. Thomas,et al.  SUCCESSFUL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS , 1998 .

[9]  Bård Kuvaas,et al.  An Exploration of How the Employee-organization Relationship Affects the Linkage between Perception of Developmental Human Resource Practices and Employee Outcomes , 2007 .

[10]  Nikos Bozionelos,et al.  Expatriation outside the boundaries of the multinational corporation: a study with expatriate nurses in Saudi Arabia , 2009 .

[11]  Pei-Lee Teh,et al.  Knowledge Sharing, Job Attitudes and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour , 2012, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[12]  Vincenzo Cavaliere,et al.  Knowledge sharing in knowledge-intensive manufacturing firms. An empirical study of its enablers , 2015, J. Knowl. Manag..

[13]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  Assessing the Work Environment for Creativity , 1996 .

[14]  Jaekwon Ko,et al.  HR Practices and Knowledge Sharing Behavior , 2014 .

[15]  Kay M. Nelson,et al.  International Conference on Information Systems ( ICIS ) 1993 THE CONTRIBUTION OF SHARED KNOWLEDGE TO IS GROUP PERFORMANCE , 2017 .

[16]  Steffanie L. Wilk,et al.  Investigation of the factors that influence employees' participation in development activities. , 1993 .

[17]  M. K. Raja,et al.  A unified model of knowledge sharing behaviours: theoretical development and empirical test , 2012, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[18]  L. Liao,et al.  A learning organization perspective on knowledge-sharing behavior and firm innovation , 2006 .

[19]  Birgit Renzl,et al.  Personality traits and knowledge sharing , 2008 .

[20]  M. Hvidt.  THE DUBAI MODEL: AN OUTLINE OF KEY DEVELOPMENT-PROCESS ELEMENTS IN DUBAI , 2009, International Journal of Middle East Studies.

[21]  K. Sutcliffe,et al.  Management team learning orientation and business unit performance. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[22]  D. Teece.  Capturing Value from Knowledge Assets: The New Economy, Markets for Know-How, and Intangible Assets , 1998 .

[23]  Nory B. Jones,et al.  Nimble Knowledge Transfer in High Velocity/Turbulent Environments , 2012, J. Knowl. Manag..

[24]  Ramón Valle-Cabrera,et al.  The influence of human resource management on knowledge sharing and innovation in Spain: the mediating role of affective commitment , 2011 .

[25]  L. Rabbiosi,et al.  Linking HRM and knowledge transfer via individual‐level mechanisms , 2012 .

[26]  Hsiu-Fen Lin,et al.  An empirical investigation of mobile banking adoption: The effect of innovation attributes and knowledge-based trust , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[27]  O. Shenkar,et al.  Clustering Countries on Attitudinal Dimensions: A Review and Synthesis , 1985 .

[28]  Amjad D. Al-Nasser,et al.  HRM and knowledge-transfer: a micro analysis in a Middle Eastern emerging market , 2017 .

[29]  K. R. Conner,et al.  A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge Versus Opportunism , 1996 .

[30]  Joanne E. McNeish,et al.  Knowledge Sharing and Trust in Organizations , 2010 .

[31]  Wes Harry,et al.  Employment creation and localization: the crucial human resource issues for the GCC , 2007 .

[32]  K. M. Bartol,et al.  Encouraging Knowledge Sharing: The Role of Organizational Reward Systems , 2002 .

[33]  Gabriel Szulanski.  Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm , 1996 .

[34]  Marylène Gagné.  A model of knowledge‐sharing motivation , 2009 .

[35]  B. Wernerfelt,et al.  A Resource-Based View of the Firm , 1984 .

[36]  V. Vroom.  Work and motivation , 1964 .

[37]  A. Edmondson.  Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams , 1999 .

[38]  Bård Kuvaas,et al.  It Takes Three to Tango: Exploring the Interplay among Training Intensity, Job Autonomy, and Supervisor Support in Predicting Knowledge Sharing , 2015 .

[39]  Paul Manning,et al.  Explaining and developing social capital for knowledge management purposes , 2010, J. Knowl. Manag..

[40]  Daniel C. Bello,et al.  From the Editors: Conducting high impact international business research: The role of theory , 2012 .

[41]  Jean-Paul A. Barthès,et al.  Knowledge Management , 1994, Encyclopedia of Database Systems.

[42]  R. Grant.  Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[43]  Tzu-Shian Han,et al.  The relationship between high‐commitment HRM and knowledge‐sharing behavior and its mediators , 2011 .

[44]  João Mário Csillag,et al.  Theory of reasoned action for continuous improvement capabilities: a behavioral approach , 2012 .

[45]  J. Dickson,et al.  R&D Work Climate and Innovation in Semiconductors , 1983 .

[46]  Carol Midgley,et al.  Perceptions of the school psychological environment and early adolescents' psychological and behavioral functioning in school: The mediating role of goals and belonging. , 1996 .

[47]  Nicolai J. Foss,et al.  Bringing the knowledge perspective into HRM , 2009 .

[48]  D. Minbaeva,et al.  Strategic HRM in building micro-foundations of organizational knowledge-based performance , 2013 .

[49]  Vincent Ribière,et al.  A paradigm shift in the Arab region knowledge evolution , 2008, J. Knowl. Manag..

[50]  K. Hutchings,et al.  Cultural Embeddedness and Contextual Constraints: Knowledge Sharing in Chinese and Arab Cultures , 2005 .

[51]  Vesa Peltokorpi,et al.  Objectivity and subjectivity in knowledge management: a review of 20 top articles , 2006 .

[52]  Pei-Lee Teh,et al.  Knowledge Sharing in is Personnel: Organizational Behavior's Perspective , 2011, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[53]  Carole A. Ames.  Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. , 1992 .

[54]  Kevin G. Corley,et al.  The Intersection of Organizational Identity, Knowledge, and Practice: Attempting Strategic Change Via Knowledge Grafting , 2007 .

[55]  P. Costa,et al.  Four ways five factors are basic , 1992 .

[56]  Peyman Akhavan,et al.  Developing Social Capital for Facilitating Knowledge Management Practices , 2013 .

[57]  E. Deci,et al.  The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior , 2000 .

[58]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , 1977 .

[59]  Mark W. McElroy,et al.  The New Knowledge Management , 2000 .

[60]  I. Nonaka,et al.  How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation , 1995 .

[61]  Richard C. M. Yam,et al.  Knowledge sharing, commitment and opportunism in new product development , 2015 .

[62]  S. Scott,et al.  DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATIVE BEHAVIOR: A PATH MODEL OF INDIVIDUAL INNOVATION IN THE WORKPLACE , 1994 .

[63]  J. H. Davis,et al.  An Integrative Model Of Organizational Trust , 1995 .

[64]  M. Tortoriello.  The social underpinnings of absorptive capacity: The moderating effects of structural holes on innovation generation based on external knowledge , 2015 .

[65]  Eric Tsui,et al.  Social motives polarity and its impact on knowledge sharing , 2011 .

[66]  Mark Loon,et al.  Knowledge Sharing: Influences of Trust, Commitment and Cost , 2012, J. Knowl. Manag..

[67]  J. M. Digman.  PERSONALITY STRUCTURE: EMERGENCE OF THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL , 1990 .

[68]  E. Tsui,et al.  Trust as an antecedent to knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice , 2007 .

[69]  Stephen Chen,et al.  Special issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management: Leadership in global knowledge-intensive firms , 2015 .

[70]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  How to build collaborative advantage , 2004 .

[71]  Dale E. Zand.  Trust and Managerial Problem Solving , 1972 .

[72]  Sheng Wei Lin,et al.  Knowledge Sharing : Integrating the Reward Systems and Social Network , 2015 .

[73]  Sajjad M. Jasimuddin,et al.  A holistic view of knowledge management strategy , 2008, J. Knowl. Manag..

[74]  Silke Bender,et al.  The transfer of knowledge and the retention of expertise: the continuing need for global assignments , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[75]  Angel Cabrera,et al.  Determinants of individual engagement in knowledge sharing , 2006 .

[76]  Tamer K. Darwish,et al.  The role of knowledge management in creating a culture of learning: The case of Dubai Municipality , 2014 .

[77]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[78]  Jennifer E. Rowley,et al.  Factors affecting attitudes and intentions towards knowledge sharing in the Dubai Police Force , 2012, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[79]  Robert Kaše,et al.  HR practices, interpersonal relations, and intrafirm knowledge transfer in knowledge intensive firms: A social network perspective , 2009 .

[80]  S. Mulaik,et al.  EVALUATION OF GOODNESS-OF-FIT INDICES FOR STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS , 1989 .

[81]  Raduan Che Rose,et al.  The impact of knowledge sharing and Islamic work ethic on innovation capability , 2012 .