Using interactive systems for knowledge sharing: The impact of individual contextual preferences in China

Based on the communicative ecology framework and theories related to guanxi and communication context in China, we investigate the moderating effects of individual preference for communication context (IPCC) on knowledge sharing via interactive systems (KSIS) behavior. Drawing on survey data from a hotel chain's employees, we explore how guanxi elements drive knowledge sharing (KS) behavior and enhance KS outcomes. Our data demonstrate that IPCC significantly moderates the effect that KSIS has on KS outcomes, but the IPCC has a direct and negative impact on KS outcomes. We explain these seemingly contradictory findings and their implications for research and practice.     

Reducing the harmful effect of work overload on creative behaviour: Buffering roles of energy‐enhancing resources

This study investigates how employees' perceptions of work overload might reduce their creative behaviours and how this negative relationship might be buffered by employees' access to three energy‐enhancing resources: their passion for work, their ability to share emotions with colleagues, and their affective commitment to the organization. Data from a manufacturing organization reveal that work overload reduces creative behaviour, but the effect is weaker with higher levels of passion for work, emotion sharing, and organizational commitment. The buffering effects of emotion sharing and organizational commitment are particularly strong when they combine with high levels of passion for work. These findings indicate how organizations marked by adverse work conditions, due to excessive workloads, can mitigate the likelihood that employees avoid creative behaviours.     

The impact of trust,guanxi orientation and face on the intention of Chinese employees and managers to engage in peer‐to‐peer tacit and explicit knowledge sharing

Knowledge sharing is recognised as one of the most critical components of knowledge management. Successful and efficient knowledge sharing could directly facilitate knowledge creation and so help a firm to maintain its competitive advantage. Consequently, identifying which factors could encourage or inhibit people to share knowledge is potentially of great value. In this study, we explore the impact of selected socio‐cultural factors, viz. trust, guanxi orientation and face, on the intention to share explicit and tacit knowledge in Chinese firms. Two hundred and four employees from Chinese organisations were surveyed on their knowledge‐sharing practices. Our findings indicate that while cognition‐based trust has no significant effect on the intention to share either tacit or explicit knowledge, affect‐based trust has a significant effect on both. Meanwhile, face‐gaining behaviours have a positive effect, while face‐saving behaviours have a negative effect on the intention to share knowledge. Finally, guanxi orientation also has a strong impact on knowledge sharing. The implications of these findings for organisations and their knowledge management initiatives are discussed.     

Designing good institutional contexts for innovation in a technology-mediated learning environment

Abstract How to innovate information technology (IT) effectively in a technology-mediated learning (TML) environment remains a problem. To better understand how knowledge sharing (KS) and ‘coordination and support of TML environment’ (i.e. CTML) influence the propensity for TML innovation, this study develops a research framework to delineate the relationships among KS, CTML, and three antecedents of TML innovation – cognizance of technology, ability to explore TML, and intention to explore. In order to test the impact of KS and CTML on the propensity for TML innovation, we collected data from elementary schools of Taiwan through a survey instrument. Our results indicate that KS has a positive effect on all the three antecedents of TML innovation, while CTML exerts a positive impact only on instructors' ability to explore. The implications of the study are discussed, and future research directions are proposed.     

How to foster frontline employee knowledge sharing within service‐oriented enterprises: Empirical evidence from China

Based on the context of Chinese workplace, the present research aims to explore the combined effects of proactive personality, supervisor–subordinate guanxi (s–s guanxi), and leaders’ innovation expectations on the knowledge sharing of frontline employees (FLEs). Questionnaire data from a sample of 301 FLEs within service‐oriented enterprises in China were used in this study. The results show that proactive personality and leaders’ innovation expectations are both positively related to employees’ psychological empowerment and knowledge sharing, and s–s guanxi significantly impacts psychological empowerment, but has a nonsignificant effect on knowledge sharing. This study expands the understanding of FLEs’ knowledge sharing behavior and enriches our understanding of the guanxi construction process during the interaction between supervisors and subordinates.     

“StoryWeb”: A storytelling‐based knowledge‐sharing application among multiple stakeholders

The research objective of this paper is to develop a storytelling‐based knowledge‐sharing application that enables users to co‐create their own stories for both individuals and groups. To address this, a design science research methodology was applied for elucidating users' requirements. As empirical evidence, a case study was conducted on the children's book industry to synthesize a knowledge‐sharing design application named “StoryWeb”. Usability tests were conducted to reconfigure users' feedback and suggestions after two StoryWeb prototypes were developed. This study makes three main contributions. First, it empirically tests individual's or group's creativity and co‐creation by a view of knowledge sharing. Second, it methodologically applies a design thinking approach into a knowledge‐sharing study. Third, it also practically suggests feasible guidelines for the creativity and innovation research community on which features of storytelling‐based applications can be configured.     

The effect of ethical leadership on employee social innovation tendency in social enterprises: Mediating role of perceived social capital

Although social innovation has gained prominence in policy, academic, and practitioner debates, there remains a lack of understanding of how leader aspects such as behavior and ethics contribute to fostering social innovation among employees in the social enterprise, owing primarily to a dearth of empirical research on this subject. The goal of this study is to empirically examine the effect of ethical leadership on the social innovation tendency among employees in social enterprises; also, employees' perceived social capital is hypothesized as a mediator through which the ethical leader is likely to influence their social innovation tendency. Using data collected from 189 employees associated with a variety of social enterprises, the results of structural equation modeling indicate that ethical leadership has both a direct and indirect effect on the social innovation tendency among employees, where the indirect effect of ethical leadership involves influencing the employees' perceived social capital, which subsequently influences their tendency for social innovation. Accordingly, the study offers key implications for social enterprise leaders aspiring to boost innovation in their endeavors aimed at achieving the enterprise's objective of creating positive social impact.     

IT‐mediated social interactions and knowledge sharing: Role of competence‐based trust and background heterogeneity

In the knowledge‐based economy, organizational success is dependent on how effectively organizational employees share information. Many studies have investigated how different types of communication activities and communications media influence knowledge sharing. We contribute to this literature by examining increasingly prevalent yet understudied IT‐mediated social interactions and their effects on knowledge sharing among employees in comparison to face‐to‐face social connections. By integrating the literature on knowledge sharing, social networks, and information systems, we theorize the ability of IT‐mediated social interaction to (1) afford interactions between individuals with heterogeneous backgrounds and (2) facilitate frequent IT‐mediated social interactions that are high in competence‐based trust—both supporting effective sharing of knowledge. Through a social network analysis of the employees in a high‐tech organization, this study finds that IT‐mediated frequent social interactions are the most effective in promoting knowledge sharing.     

Vicious and virtuous circles of offshoring attitudes and relational behaviours. A configurational study of German IT developers

Prior research has shown that the success of offshoring is affected by relational behaviours of the employees involved in an offshoring collaboration. However, hardly anything is known about the attitudes that onshore colleagues hold towards offshoring, and how such offshoring attitudes affect relational behaviours towards offshore colleagues. We therefore present an interpretivist, qualitative case study that explores the offshoring attitudes of German information technology developers. We found that offshoring attitudes affected relational behaviours towards Indian offshore colleagues, in terms of (1) treating Indian colleagues as fellow team members as opposed to suppliers; (2) spending more or less effort in communication and knowledge transfer; and (3) supporting vs. avoiding the task transfer. These relational behaviours fed back into participants' offshoring attitudes, leading to vicious and virtuous circles. The circles created two contrasting configurations of offshoring attitudes and relational behaviours, driven by opposing forces within the departmental context. Our findings highlight the value of taking a configurational perspective for understanding offshoring success and for identifying drivers that need to be managed in order to achieve favourable configurations. We suggest that future research should further expand the typology of attitude‐behaviour configurations and could apply theories of efficacy, self‐reinforcing spirals and planned behaviour.     

Innovation among different classes of software development organizations

Software development organizations (SDOs) innovate in diverse ways. In this paper, based on an extensive review of innovation typologies, we develop a theory‐driven typology of SDO innovator classes. We theorize about the driving forces behind these classes, with specific attention given to knowledge‐based dispositions that relate to the SDO's knowledge‐based competencies in technology appropriation, technology generation, and network intensity within ecological niches. Through a survey of 136 SDOs, which adopted Internet technologies during 1995‐2006, we empirically verify that these classes also determine different ways that SDOs innovate around software services they provide to their clients. Our findings suggest that the knowledge‐based dispositions of different SDO innovator classes impact how they innovate. Overall, the study involves theorizing around different types of innovation behaviours and associated knowledge‐based factors that influence the way SDOs innovate.     

Assessing the impact of knowledge management strategies announcements on the market value of firms

Although there is much literature on the relationship between KM strategies and organizational performance, the benefit of KM strategies is not well understood. We addressed this issue by exploring how KM strategies influence a firm's market value using event study methodology. We evaluated the cumulative abnormal returns for KM strategies announced by U. S. firms from 1998 to 2003. Our findings supported the hypothesis that firms’ announcements about their KM strategies provoked positive reactions in the market. More specifically, strategies that focus on either (i) knowledge reusability through IT or (ii) knowledge sharing through informal discussions among employees contributed to higher performance than strategies that emphasized both. This outcome empirically supported our argument that the emphasis on either tacit or explicit knowledge results in a better market value of the firm. Furthermore, the market's reaction to the announcement is dependent on the firm's industry classification. The findings of this study offer insights that may help managers maximize the market impact of their KM strategies.     

A unified model of knowledge sharing behaviours: theoretical development and empirical test

Research and practice on knowledge management (KM) have shown that information technology alone cannot guarantee that employees will volunteer and share knowledge. While previous studies have linked motivational factors to knowledge sharing (KS), we took a further step to thoroughly examine this theoretically and empirically. We developed a unified model that is comprehensive and yet parsimonious, based on the decomposed theory of planned behaviour (DTPB) with three sets of critical antecedents: psychological, organisational and technological that are theorised to influence KS behaviours. Results of a field survey of knowledge workers support the majority of hypothesised relationships, and explained 41.3% of the variance in the actual KS behaviours and 60.8% of the variance in the intention to share knowledge. These results far exceed the predictive powers achieved by previous studies. Among our significant findings include a strong positive influence of perceived enjoyment in helping others (PEH) and a strong negative influence of perceived loss of knowledge power (PLK). Based on the findings, we discussed the study's implications for research and practice.     

Testing the Proposed Linkage between Organizational Citizenship Behaviours and an Innovative Organizational Climate

This study investigates the link between an innovative organizational climate and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). OCB is discretionary individual behaviour that is not directly rewarded and that promotes organizational functioning. The genesis of OCB is Barnard's innovative and spontaneous behaviours instrumental for effective organizational functioning, yet innovation has not been part of the OCB construct development. Using employees of a financial services firm in the Midwest, we examine the relationship between an organizational climate conducive to innovation and OCB using the Climate for Innovation Questionnaire (CIQ) and Van Dyne et al.'s OCB scale, which assesses the dimensions of organizational Obedience, Loyalty and Participation. The CIQ was reduced to three dimensions (context, ideas and risk) via factor analysis. Our results indicate that OCB is not linked to an Innovative Organizational Context. The Participation dimension of citizenship behaviour was positively linked to Innovative Ideas. Loyalty OCB was negatively linked to Risk, and Obedience OCB was negatively linked to Ideas. Results suggest the need to re‐examine the OCB construct. Pragmatic implications include examining the organizational characteristics when innovation is desired. Additionally, managers should be cautious with interventions designed to increase OCB, as the available evidence indicates a generally negative OCB–innovative climate relationship.     

Embedded (Lead) Users as Catalysts to Product Diffusion

Firms can harness social user networks not only for ideation, but also to accelerate and facilitate diffusion of new product introductions. They select individuals whose own product adoptions and opinions influence adoption decisions of others. In this paper we transfer this rationale to firm employees. We focus on ‘embedded users’ who are employees of a firm, but at the same time users of the firm's products. We aim to find out if their access to user networks, use experience and lead userness impact their opinion leadership and domain‐specific innovativeness. We also show how cognitive empathy towards external users is a mechanism to explain these relationships. Drawing on the user innovation and consumer behaviour literature, we derive and test eight hypotheses on a sample of 54 firm employees in gaming hardware firms. We find that lead userness is positively related to domain‐specific innovativeness and opinion leadership, but use experience only to the former. Cognitive empathy mediates all relationships in our study. To facilitate embedded users' tendency to act as opinion leaders and to adopt new products, managers should encourage their employees to use the firm's products to build use experience and thus develop cognitive empathy towards external users.     

Do Intelligent Leaders Make a Difference? The Effect of a Leader's Emotional Intelligence on Followers' Creativity

This research investigates the connection between emotional intelligence (EI) and creativity. This was studied by exploring: (i) an association between leaders' EI and their followers' creative output; (ii) an association between six sub‐dimensions of EI and creativity; and (iii) a mediating role of climate in the link between EI and creativity. Two questionnaires (one for leaders and one for employees) were used to collect data in a hospital. Sixty‐six usable leader‐employee dyads were collected. The findings confirmed a positive relationship between leaders' EI and employees' creativity. At an EI's sub‐dimensions level, the current research showed an association between creativity, on one hand, and self‐encouragement and understanding of own emotions, on the other. Finally, no mediating effect of climate was observed. The absence of a mediating effect is interesting, since it suggests a direct link between leaders' EI and employees' creativity, regardless of the climate. This is important, since it calls attention to the paramount role of leaders in shaping individual and organizational behaviours as far as creativity is concerned. The paper also discusses implications for management and practice.     

Exploring the affect factors of knowledge sharing behavior: The relations model theory perspective

With a view to achieve the ultimate goal of a permanent development, operation, and growth, to any business and enterprise, the strategy of knowledge management must be reinforced, and the sooner the better. In despite of those new and high interests shown toward the organization-embedded knowledge, not much concrete finding has been obtained regarding how and why employees are reluctant to share what they know.In our research, we proposed to base on the relations model theory to explore how different relation models, cultivated and shaped by different corporate cultures, give their influences on the willingness of knowledge sharing from employees. In the mean time, with a view to get closer to the realistic circumstance in the office, we give it a shot to include additional moderating variables, task inter-dependence, as well as time-of-cooperation, into our full research framework, aiming to see if they will disturb the influencing processes between the four principal relations and the willingness of employees to share their knowledge.The result reflects the distinct impact from communal sharing and equality matching on the willingness of sharing, while a subtle but negative impact of market pricing on the sharing willingness. There is no clear effect of authority ranking. Furthermore, in the analysis of interaction mode including additional moderators, the result has exhibited that task inter-dependence does moderate the relationship between communal sharing/equality matching/market pricing and the notion of sharing, while time-of-cooperation also adjusts the influencing processes between communal sharing, equality matching, market pricing, and willingness of sharing. This analysis and study grant us some clues regarding how corporate culture would eventually leverage employees’ intention in sharing their knowledge, and advise the business organizations how they should correctly formulate the knowledge management strategy and activities to augment the knowledge inter-flows between employees.     

Caught between the users and the firm: How does identity conflict affect employees' innovative behavior

Absorbing external knowledge is crucial for innovation within the organization. One way of tapping external knowledge sources is to rely on employees who reach out across the firm's boundary to external stakeholders and address knowledge sets located beyond the organizational boundary. However, such employees are likely to identify with the stakeholders they reach out to which exposes them to potentially conflicting demands—with positive or negative effects for their employing organization. We investigate whether and how their dual identification with the organization and with users, and the potential identity conflicts this engenders, affects their job satisfaction and innovativeness. We study a sample of 243 employees in two industries, revealing that perceived conflict between organizational identification and user identification detracts from job satisfaction if and only if employees are strongly identified with both targets. We find also that identity conflict is indirectly and negatively related to innovative work behavior through job satisfaction. Our paper contributes to the literature on the benefits and risks of employee ties to external stakeholders. We contribute also to research on embedded users by elucidating under what conditions they are most valuable to their employing organizations.     

制造商竞争下创新投资对零售商信息分享策略的影响

研究在由两个竞争制造商和一个共同零售商组成的二级供应链中,制造商创新投资对零售商信息分享策略的影响.首先构建3种信息分享策略(不分享、部分分享和均分享)下的博弈模型,并对比分析得出零售商最优信息分享策略及不同策略下制造商/供应链利润大小关系;然后,探讨竞争制造商创新投资效率不等和存在横向溢出效应情形下零售商的信息分享策略.研究结果表明:当制造商投资效率相等时,若投资效率较低,则零售商没有动机分享预测信息;若竞争强度较小且投资效率较高,或者竞争强度较大且投资效率适中,则零售商总是倾向于均分享策略;若竞争强度较大且投资效率较高,则零售商选择部分分享策略.当制造商投资效率不等时,零售商更愿意与投资效率较高的制造商分享信息.此外,横向溢出效应更能激励零售商分享信息.     

The acceptance and use of interactive whiteboards among teachers: Differences in UTAUT determinants between pre- and post-adopters

With the spread of new educational technology such as the interactive whiteboard (IWB) teachers, as potential users, need to adapt their teaching in order to successfully utilize it. Despite considerable efforts in motivating teachers to use new educational technology, there are mixed feelings about whether to accept and use this technology in the classroom or not. In this study we propose to extend the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with a new moderator variable user type in order to investigate differences in the UTAUT determinants between pre- and post-adopters of IWBs. The results of the study showed significant differences in causal effect sizes between pre- and post-adopters for several paths of the proposed research model. When compared to post-adopters, we can see that for pre-adopters: 1) social influence has a bigger impact on behavioral intentions, 2) performance expectancy more strongly affects attitudes toward using IWBs, and 3) there is a difference in attitudes towards using IWB on users' potential use of IWBs. For post-adopters: 4) the facilitating conditions have a bigger impact on the actual use of IWBs, and 5) behavioral intention is a stronger predictor of the actual use of IWBs when compared with pre-adopters.     

Reciprocity vs. Free‐Riding in Innovation Contest Communities

Innovation contest communities are virtual tools for corporations to integrate external knowledge and creativity into the innovation process. Built on both the principle of competition and the advantages of a collaborative community, innovation contest communities constitute special interaction phenomena. The present study explores how different co‐operation behaviours, namely reciprocal giving, initial altruistic giving and free‐riding, influence the quality of participants' ideas on an open virtual contest platform with more than 2,000 members and more than 4,000 submissions. Our findings show that reciprocity and free‐riding are substantial behavioural elements of innovation contest communities leading to different outcomes regarding quality of submitted ideas. With this study, we contribute to a better theoretical understanding of distinctive types of co‐operation and free‐riding among individuals in the context of open innovation, extending theories of the evolution of co‐operation.