Benevolent Competence and Integrity-Based Trust in Knowledge Transfer: A Look at Software Reuse

The potential of software reuse to reduce costs and time while increasing quality in a new project development, make it an important issue in the management of information systems. The question of how to increase software reuse in new application development has often been asked, but mostly from a managerial perspective rather than the individual perspective. This research effort attempts to address this limitation by conceptualizing software as a form of knowledge, and intending to examine if trustworthiness of various knowledge transfer mechanisms influences receipt of software through those mechanisms. And if so, which knowledge transfer mechanisms do software developers trust most? We propose and intend to test a model of software reuse in which the links between knowledge transfer mechanisms and receipt of software through those mechanisms is mediated by competence-, integrity-, and benevolence-based trust. Hypotheses are developed to test those links, and appropriate methodology is outlined to conduct the research. With a better understanding of why software developers trust certain mechanisms over others, it will be possible to recommend better administrative policies and procedures that work in conjunction with trust to encourage software reuse.

[1]  Michelle Renee Nelson,et al.  Exploring cross-cultural ambivalence: a netnography of intercultural wedding message boards , 2005 .

[2]  J. H. Davis,et al.  An integrative model of organizational trust, Academy of Management Review, : . , 1995 .

[3]  Timothy R. Hinkin.  A Brief Tutorial on the Development of Measures for Use in Survey Questionnaires , 1998 .

[4]  T. Ravichandran,et al.  Software reusability as synchronous innovation: a test of four theoretical models , 1999 .

[5]  Timothy R. Hinkin,et al.  A Brief Tutorial on the Development of Measures for Use in Survey Questionnaires , 1998 .

[6]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues , 2001, MIS Q..

[7]  Chetan S. Sankar,et al.  Reusability-Based Strategy for Development of Information Systems , 1990, MIS Q..

[8]  Weichang Du,et al.  Toward reuse of object-oriented software design models , 2004, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[9]  Clive Holtham,et al.  The Executive Learning Ladder: A Knowledge Creation Process Grounded in the Strategic Information Systems Domain , 1998 .

[10]  Leyland M. Lucas.  The impact of trust and reputation on the transfer of best practices , 2005, J. Knowl. Manag..

[11]  Derek L. Nazareth,et al.  Assessing the cost-effectiveness of software reuse: A model for planned reuse , 2004, J. Syst. Softw..

[12]  Daniel J. McAllister.  Affect- and Cognition-Based Trust as Foundations for Interpersonal Cooperation in Organizations , 1995 .

[13]  Jakki J. Mohr,et al.  Communication Strategies in Marketing Channels: A Theoretical Perspective , 1990 .

[14]  Jeannie L. Johnson,et al.  Setting the Stage for Trust and Strategic Integration in Japanese-U.S. Cooperative Alliances , 1996 .

[15]  H. Scarbrough,et al.  Structural effects on inter-unit knowledge sharing: The role of coordination under different knowledge sharing needs , 2002 .

[16]  Jill Owen,et al.  Knowledge Reuse and Transfer in a Project Management Environment , 2004 .

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

[18]  Susan C. Morton,et al.  Managing the informal organisation: Conceptual model , 2004 .

[19]  Daniel Z. Levin,et al.  The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[20]  Uday R. Kulkarni,et al.  Strategies for Software Reuse: A Principal Component Analysis of Reuse Practices , 2003, IEEE Trans. Software Eng..

[21]  J. H. Davis,et al.  The effect of the performance appraisal system on trust for management: A field quasi-experiment. , 1999 .