Knowledge sharing and organisational enabling conditions

There is currently an inadequate understanding of what influences an individual to voluntarily engage in knowledge sharing activities within an organisation. “Knowledge sharing in organisations is a complicated process with an infinite number of factors affecting how it really functions” (2007, p. 119). Thus, understanding factors that would encourage or inhibit the intention of employees to share their knowledge with others is paramount to the future success of knowledge sharing initiatives in the workplace. This research considers three organisational conditions (organisational commitment, expected rewards and incentives and trust) and one personal characteristic (learning orientation) that influence the intention of employees to share their knowledge with others within an organisation. These factors are drawn from existing empirical studies and are combined with new variables introduced from a social cognitive perspective of intention to engage in behaviour. This study used Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to develop and test a research model to assess factors that influence knowledge sharing intentions. The data are derived from 287 respondents working in one of the leading oil and gas organisations in Australia. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to evaluate the research model. The analytical results showed that the research model fit the data well. Perceived social influence on knowledge sharing and personal control for knowledge sharing were found to significantly and directly affect intention. Contrary to common belief, attitudes toward knowledge sharing had no significant effect on intention to share knowledge. Learning orientation and trust had indirect effects on intention to share knowledge through personal control whereas expected rewards and incentives had indirect effects on intention to share knowledge through perceived social influence. Another surprising result is that, whilst organisational commitment positively