A framework for studying the impact of national culture on knowledge sharing motivation in virtual teams
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720810889851 |
| Published date | 20 June 2008 |
| Pages | 221-231 |
| Date | 20 June 2008 |
| Author | Jiacheng Wei,Michael Stankosky,Frank Calabrese,Liu Lu |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
A framework for studying the
impact of national culture on
knowledge sharing motivation
in virtual teams
Jiacheng Wei
School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing,
People’s Republic of China
Michael Stankosky
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
Frank Calabrese
Enterprise Excellence Management Group, Inc., Vienna, Virginia, USA, and
Liu Lu
School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing,
People’s Republic of China
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deepen the theoretical understanding of the factors that
increase or lessen employees’ tendencies to engage in knowledge-sharing behaviors. Further, through
a framework of five-steps, it directs a better future research and understanding of the relationships
between national culture and the motivation of knowledge sharing (KS) in virtual team (VT).
Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of the social influence theory and the theory of
reasoned action, a KS motivation model is proposed. Based on this model, a framework of five-steps is
put forward for further research on the relationships between national culture and the motivation of KS
in VT; finally, a detailed application of this framework with a focus on the USA and China is displayed.
Findings – This paper proposes a KS motivation model to enrich the theoretical foundation of
understanding the whole mechanism, which induces positive KS behavior; and it provides a general
framework and sets the stage for future research on the interplay between cultural values and KS.
Practical implications – This paper is expected to provide some multinational companies with
some implications of better KS in VTs and recommend how to establish the different motivation
systems according to different employees from different national culture backgrounds; it can also
provide some golden nuggets of multicultural conflict resolution.
Originality/value – The proposed KS motivation model will enrich the theoretical foundation of
understanding the whole mechanism, which induces KS behavior intention. Differing from related
prior researches, the paper provides a conceptual framework for studying and understanding the
relationship between national culture and KS behaviors.
Keywords Knowledge sharing,National cultures, Team working, Motivation (psychology)
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
As global business and knowledge-based economy more and more predominant in
today’s economic environment, economic success largely depends on how successfully
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0305-5728.htm
National culture
on KS motivation
in VTs
221
VINE: The journal of information and
knowledge management systems
Vol. 38 No. 2, 2008
pp. 221-231
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/03055720810889851
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