Understanding online knowledge sharing: An interpersonal relationship perspective
Introduction
Knowledge sharing is a critical step in knowledge acquisition. The post positivist perspective of knowledge considers knowledge sharing to be a consensual understanding situated in everyday experience (Peters & Burbules, 2004), and holds that knowledge is negotiated among a number of individuals to reach a consensus. Knowledge does not possess inherent meaning, but must be interpreted within the context in which one encounters and uses it. Knowledge is also embedded in practice (Wenger, 1998). And according to the communities of practice theory, engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which humans learn. These ideas suggest that learning is a process of social participation, a notion that is further supported by the fact that learner participation is associated with positive effects on learning, satisfaction, and retention (Hrastinski, 2009). Learner participation and social interaction appear in various patterns, including collaboration, dialogue, reflection, connection to context, and transferability of knowledge (Löfström & Nevgi, 2007).
The key challenge in online learning is to encourage knowledge sharing through social interaction, participation, and engagement in various forms. It is commonly argued that the use of educational technology improves learner participation and interaction in both traditional and online learning (e.g., Haythornthwaite, 2002). Empirical studies of online learning often measure online knowledge sharing in terms of participation and its relationship to learning. For example, online discussions have been examined by assessing messages posted by learners (e.g., Mazzolini & Maddison, 2007); collaborative learning environments have been investigated by assessing interactional activity, participation patterns, and their effects on performance (Kapur & Kinzer, 2007); and collaboration environments supported by different levels of technology have been assessed by investigating the extent to which learners share knowledge and the resulting effect on individual outcomes (e.g., Fischer & Mandl, 2005). Knowledge-building communities have been studied by investigating the knowledge sharing of learners with other members of the community (Zhang, Scardamalia, Lamon, Messina, & Reeve, 2007). All of the empirical evidence in these studies indicates how the full utilization of an online learning environment can improve online knowledge sharing.
However, recent studies have also found that instructors and students are not always fully engaged in an active or sustained manner in activities that use information technology (Reffell & Whitworth, 2002), and other studies have found that learner participation varies significantly across individual courses and individual institutions (e.g., Marriott, Marriott, & Selwyn, 2004). These inconsistent results brings into question whether the presence of education technology alone is sufficient to facilitate online knowledge sharing among learners. To conceptualize the motivation for sharing knowledge in online learning, it is important to gain a better understanding of learners’ needs. This study thus aims to determine the emergent motivational factors that drive online knowledge sharing.
This paper is organized as follows. In the literature review section, the relevant empirical literature on interpersonal relationships and online knowledge sharing processes is reviewed and analyzed. Drawing on existing empirical studies, a motivational online knowledge sharing model (OKSM) is then proposed. In the next section, an empirical study is designed to validate two proposed constructs – Perceived Online Attachment Motivation (POAM) and Perceived Online Relationship Commitment (PORC) – and to test the model. The results of the findings are then discussed with reference to their academic and practical implications.
Section snippets
Online learning, social interaction and knowledge sharing
A review of recent empirical studies identifies several streams of research into online learning that deal with knowledge sharing. The first stream considers online learning that is provided through a shared platform on which peer learners interact, often in the form of discussion forums, and in which knowledge sharing occurs through the continuous interaction of asynchronous written communication among peer learners (Mazzolini & Maddison, 2007). The second stream examines online learning in
Model framework and hypothesis development
As shown in Fig. 1, the Online Knowledge Sharing Model (OKSM) includes the constructs of Perceived Online Attachment Motivation (POAM), Perceived Online Relationship Commitment (PORC), and Online Knowledge Sharing Behavior (OKSB). Individual online knowledge sharing behavior is defined as “the online communication of knowledge so that knowledge is learned and applied by an individual” (Argote, 1999, Brown et al., 2006, Darr and Kurtzberg, 2000, Ko et al., 2005). Knowledge sharing behavior
Research design
The aim of this research is to understand the motivational factors of knowledge sharing in online learning environments. As noncognitive traits such as personality, attitude, value, feelings, and beliefs are difficult to observe directly, the best way to measure their effect on the factor of interest is to ask study participants about them directly. Thus, noncognitive instruments are extensively used in educational research to measure traits (McMillan & Schmacher, 1989). Following this
Reliability and construct validity
Validity is the degree to which a measure accurately represents what it is supposed to represent, whereas reliability is the degree to which the observed variable measures the “true” value and is “error free” (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, & Tatham, 2006).
Cronbach’s alpha is generally the most appropriate type of reliability measure for survey research in which there is a range of possible answers for each item (McMillan & Schmacher, 1989). The Cronbach’s alpha values for each of the constructs
Summary of the findings
The aim of this study is to determine the factors that facilitate online knowledge sharing, and hence to develop an understanding of the factors that promote the online knowledge sharing behavior of learners. The findings confirm the proposed model, which is based on the theory that the desire to develop and the tendency to maintain social relationships are the major determinants of the knowledge sharing behavior of individual learners in the online learning context. The proposed factor
Conclusion
This study attempts to extend our understanding of the factors that influence online knowledge sharing. It has developed an online knowledge sharing model that has the fundamental need to belong as its core factor to explain online knowledge sharing behavior. The need to belong is operationalized as perceived online attachment motivation and perceived online relationship commitment. Taking a field sample of undergraduates using an online learning environment at a local university, the
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