Knowledge Sharing Intentions among IT Professionals in India

In today’s knowledge-based economy, an organization’s ability to strategically leverage knowledge has become a crucial factor for global competitiveness. Knowledge is considered an important source of establishing and maintaining competitive advantage. Specifically, knowledge sharing and resultant knowledge creation are crucial for organizations to gain and sustain competitiveness. The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of the factors supporting or inhibiting individuals’ knowledge-sharing intentions. Theory of Reasoned Action is employed and augmented with extrinsic motivators, social-psychological forces and organizational climate factors that are believed to influence individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions. The study proved that organizational climates and social-psychological factors have a positive effect on the intension for knowledge sharing. Additionally it was found that the attitude towards knowledge sharing and subjective norm affects individual’s intension to share knowledge. Contrary to the common belief, it was found that anticipated extrinsic rewards exert a negative effect on individuals’ knowledge-sharing attitudes.