The determinations of employee´s knowledge sharing behavior: An empirical study based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

In recent years, attempts to capture and leverage a firm´s knowledge resources have become a primary in the pursuit of competitive advantage. Knowledge sharing behaviors and its determinants has been identified as a major focus area for knowledge management. This paper explores the determinations of knowledge sharing by applying Ajzen´s Theory of Planned Behavior. Through a field survey of 322 employees from 13 industries of China, we confirm that intrinsic motivators, organizational commitment, organizational climate, and abilities of knowledge sharing are the important determinations of knowledge sharing behavior, where one´s attitude toward knowledge sharing, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are identified as critical mediate variables. Contrary to common beliefs, we find extrinsic motivators such as money rewards almost don´t exert any positive effect on individual knowledge sharing attitude.