IBIMA Publishing

Sharing Knowledge to A Knowledge Management System: Examining the motivators and the benefits in an Omani organization

Kamla Ali Al-Busaidi, Lorne Olfman, Terry Ryan, and Gondy Leroy
Volume 2010 (2010), Article ID 325835, Journal of Organizational Knowledge Management, 12 pages.

Abstract

Knowledge is a powerful resource that enables individuals and organizations to achieve several benefits such as improved learning and decision-making. Repository knowledge management system (KMS) assists organizations to efficiently capture their knowledge for later reuse. However, the breadth and depth of a knowledge management system depends on the magnitude of knowledge contributed to the system. This paper empirically investigated the motivators of individual knowledge sharing behavior and the individual benefits of such behavior. Data was collected through a questionnaire from 104 employees in a major private petroleum organization in Oman and analyzed by the partial least square analysis methodology. The results suggested that an individual's knowledge sharing behavior to KMS was motivated by organizational-culture dimensions (such as management support and rewards policy) and the system technical characteristics (such as system quality). Information technology service quality and peers trustworthiness were not significant motivators on individual knowledge sharing behavior. The results also suggested that individuals gain several benefits from sharing their knowledge to a repository KMS. The study provided implications for researchers and practitioners of KMS.