Motivated to share Your Knowledge? Development of a scale to measure knowledge sharing motivation of public employees

This paper examines the construct of knowledge sharing motivation (KSM) and develops a scale to measure it adequately. Following the Rubicon model (Heckhausen 1989) the author suggests that knowledge sharing motivation and... [ view full abstract ]

This paper examines the construct of knowledge sharing motivation (KSM) and develops a scale to measure it adequately. Following the Rubicon model (Heckhausen 1989) the author suggests that knowledge sharing motivation and knowledge sharing behavior are different stages in the process of human behavior which alternate and affect each other but are by no means identical. Hence knowledge sharing motivation can not be measured by knowledge sharing behavior, which is done in the literature up to now. According to theories of human needs and motives for motivation and behavior, five dimensions of knowledge sharing motivation are suggested. Furthermore, qualitative data and peer review was used to generate items. The constructed scale of KSM is tested with survey data of 355 German public employees from 2017. An exploratory factor analysis indicates a clear separation of knowledge sharing motivation and behavior. The developed construct of KSM shows good reliability and validity measures. Hence, the scale can be used as a basis for further research on knowledge sharing motivation.