Influence of Knowledge Worker Roles on Attitude Towards Sharing

First and foremost when analyzing the actions of individuals, an understanding of the influencers of attitudes and intentions resulting in knowledge sharing behaviours is required. Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour (TPB) has been adopted for this

study. Although the theory of reasoned action (TRA) has been frequently applied in the study of knowledge sharing (e.g. Bock et al. 2005) to describe how an individual’s beliefs and attitudes influence their behaviours (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975), this theory evolved into the TPB to meet the criticism that one cannot always act in the manner in which they desire due to circumstantial limitations (Sheppard et al. 1988). TPB states that an individual’s behavioural intentions and behaviours are shaped by their attitude towards behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (Azjen 1991).

Wherein perceived behavioural control is associated with self-efficacy and expectancy theory in that employees will behave according to their intended motivation associated with achieving a desired outcome given the effort required and belief in their ability to successfully perform the behaviour (Bandura 1977). Finally and most critically for this study’s focus on the adoption of social software tools is that “the role of intention as a predictor of behaviour (e.g. usage) is critical and has been well-established in IS (information systems).” (Venkatesh et al. 2003: 427)

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is highly applicable in this study as the clearly defined outcome of knowledge sharing behaviour requires employee’s to possess a positive intention towards the activity. This starts with an employee’s positive or negative attitude towards knowledge sharing behaviour shaped by individual factors which influences their initial intention. Their intention is then influenced by both the social factors associated with subjective norms and the technological factors associated with perceived behavioural control. The work of Bock and Kim (2002) support this claim through showing that knowledge sharing intentions and behaviours were related to knowledge sharing attitudes resulting from individual’s expectations of improving relationships through the useful knowledge they share. Subjective norms will be analyzed later more closely in terms of the social factors which influence one’s intentions with respect to an employee’s peers’ and supervisor’s approval of knowledge sharing activities (Cabrera et al. 2006). Furthermore, literature relating to the TPB’s application within the adoption of technology will be provided in the technological factors section of the review. Overall, TPB will be useful to this research in structuring the process by which knowledge workers are influenced by numerous factors along the path from attitude formation to intention, resulting in knowledge sharing behaviour via

social software tools. This requires first defining what is a ‘knowledge worker’, and the impact of this organizational role on one’s attitude towards knowledge sharing.

In Drucker’s (1993) depiction of the ‘knowledge society’ wherein knowledge is the central economic resource; a key role is played by its greatest asset, the knowledge worker who “knows how to allocate knowledge to productive use” (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995: 7). A central pillar on which this thesis stands is the role of the knowledge worker as the primary category of employee desired by an organization to share their knowledge using an enterprise social software platform’s (ESSP’s) tools.

Although knowledge worker definitions vary greatly, the recurring central theme is that they ‘think for a living’, solve problems in an unstructured way, and spend a significant portion of their time searching for information (Sellen et al. 2002).

This study applies Sellen et al.’s (2002: 228) definition of a knowledge worker as

“someone whose paid work involves significant time gathering, finding, analyzing, creating, producing or archiving information.” Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995: 151-158) expand on the concept to include a knowledge creating crew consisting of knowledge practitioners (re: front-line operations employees), engineers (re: middle management), and officers (re: top management); of which this study focuses on the practitioners and engineers who share their knowledge via communicating and collaborating with an ESSP’s tools. Past research has also utilized knowledge workers as the subject of study in relation to social software for knowledge management and organizational culture fit (Zhang 2012) as well as for analyzing behavioural intention formation in knowledge sharing (Bock et al. 2005). It follows that self-identified knowledge worker roles results in a positive attitude towards both engaging in knowledge sharing and utilizing an ESSP’s tools given the enhanced volume of valuable knowledge to which these activities and tools provide access; reducing the time required searching for information.

Although a knowledge worker’s role specifically involves the search for information and manipulation of knowledge, this does not necessarily mean that the activity of sharing one’s knowledge is considered an in-role behaviour (re: expected and potentially rewarded) as opposed to an extra-role behaviour (re: sharing not being

within one’s formal job description) (Minbaeva 2008; Wang and Noe 2010). Treem and Leonardi (2012) found that the majority of studies regarding social media tool use have focused on the motivation of individual discretionary (re: extra-role) users to contribute their knowledge. However, no studies were found in which attitudes of voluntary users of social software technologies for extra-role knowledge sharing were compared to those of mandatory users associated with in-role behaviour.

While personal characteristics have been shown to positively influence knowledge sharing behaviour such as that of openness to the experience and self-efficacy (Cabrera et al. 2006), a detailed review of all influencing characteristics is beyond the scope of this study. However, the following are two characteristics of particular relevance given the study’s focus on a knowledge worker’s usage of social software tools. The first is that employees are expected to share more willingly if they perceive that they hold valuable knowledge accumulated over years of experience (Cabrera et al. 2006), in particular in relation to sharing via electronic media (Wasko andFaraj 2005). And secondly, usage of electronic collaborative media for information sharing is strongly influenced by a user’s computer-related comfort level and ability (Jarvenpaa and Staples 2000). It follows that an employee self-identifying as a knowledge worker having accumulated expertise through years of experience will be more motivated to share their knowledge, particularly if they are comfortable in their ability to use the social software tools provided. This requires a deeper review of the factors influencing an individual’s ability, motivation, and opportunity shaping their attitudes towards knowledge sharing.