Organizational changes, trust and information sharing: an empirical study
| Date | 16 September 2019 |
| Published date | 16 September 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-05-2018-0122 |
| Pages | 677-692 |
| Author | Farhan Ahmad,Isto Huvila |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management |
Organizational changes, trust
and information sharing:
an empirical study
Farhan Ahmad
Information Science, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland and
Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK, and
Isto Huvila
Department of ALM, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden
Abstract
Purpose –While there is relatively plenty of evidence for the positive impact of communication on the
perceptions of organizational change, how organizational changes affect information sharing is relatively
unknown. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if a favorable perception of ongoing organizational
changes has a positive impact on information sharing and whether trust mediates this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach –A questionnaire (n¼317) was administered to the employees of a large
Finnish multinational organization. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to test the
hypotheses based on earlier research findings.
Findings –The resultsshow that a positive perception of recentorganizational changes improvesinformation
sharing both directly and indirectly,mediated by trust. Consequently,when changes are perceived negatively,
employees recoilfrom information sharing which is known to have negative implicationsfor organizations.
Research limitations/implications –Data were collected in a single organization. The nature of the specific
changesin the studiedorganization andits particularitiesundoubtedlyhad an effect on respondents’perceptions.
Originality/value –This paper contributes to organizational information management research by
elaborating on the relationship between organizational changes and interpersonal information sharing
between employees. To the authors’knowledge, this is the first quantitative study confirming the impact of
the perception of organizational changes on employee information-sharing behavior.
Keywords Trust, Organizational change, Structural equation modelling, Information behaviour,
Information management, Information sharing
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In the literature, there is a broad consensus that information sharing is important for
organizations. Based on a review of observed outcomes of information sharing vs
information asymmetry, Tong and Crosno (2015) conclude that, in general, sharing leads to
positive outcomes. The benefits are diverse, such as enhanced productivity and creativity.
In addition to positive organizational outcomes, individual-level knowledge sharing
(in terms of attitudes and actualized behaviors) tends to have a positive impact on individual
work performance (Henttonen et al., 2016). As information sharing plays an integral role in
organizational success, the means to improve it has emerged as a focal area of investigation.
Previous research has identified a number of factors –including organizational culture,
diversity, personality, sense of coherence and compensation –that influence information
sharing between employees (Ahmad, 2017a; Shin et al., 2007; Yang and Maxwell, 2011).
Recent technological developments, globalization and rising competition have made
organizations increasingly dynamic. Deployment of organizational change initiatives meant
to reduce costs, develop competitive advantage and adjust organizations to changing
market conditions has become a truism (Cameron and Green, 2015; Worrall et al., 2000).
Previous studies show that persistent organizational changes not only affect work practices,
but also induce variation in employees’attitudes, for example, in their organizational
commitment, job satisfaction and extra-role participation (Vakola, 2014; Worrall et al., 2000).
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 71 No. 5, 2019
pp. 677-692
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-05-2018-0122
Received 5 June 2018
Revised 10 September 2018
14 January 2019
17 July 2019
Accepted 22 July 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2050-3806.htm
677
Information
sharing
Although organizational changes are pervasive in today’s organizations, and they strongly
influence employee behavior, their implications for employees ’information-sharing
behavior are largely unknown. Whereas there is relatively plenty of evidence of the
positive impact of communication on the perceptions of organizational change, to the
knowledge of the authors, there is less evidence of how the perception of organizational
change affects information sharing. Hypothesizing that there is a similarly positive impact
in the opposite direction, the aim of this study is to investigate if a favorable perception of
ongoing organizational changes has a positive impact on information sharing.
This study makes a novel contribution to previous research by developing a better
understanding of the relationship between information sharing and one of the most critical
processes from the perspective of the long-term success of organizations, which is
organizational change. Further, as there is plentiful of evidence that trust is a factor that
relates both to information sharing andorganizational change (e.g. Lines et al., 2005; Liu and
Chetal, 2005;Ridings et al., 2002; Wilson, 2010),we investigate its role in the equation.A better
understanding of this relationship is not only useful for developing effective information
management policies in organizations operating in highly dynamic industries, but it is also
critical for the development and successful implementation of change initiatives.
Literature review
As Pilerot (2012) showed, the term information sharing has been used to refer to a range of
collaborative information giving and receiving activities with varying levels of specificity.
Sometimes, information sharing is used to refer to the phenomena of giving and receiving
(Savolainen, 2007), exchanging (e.g. Burnett, 2000; Hersberger, 2003), reciprocal information
sharing (Fulton, 2009; Huotar i and Chatman, 2001) and collaborativ e information seeking
(e.g. Hertzum,2008). In a narrower sense, it canbe seen as directive sharing (Talja,2002) or, as
sometimes found in the management literature, top-down dissemination (e.g. Brown and
Cregan, 2008). Wittel (2011) proposed that changes in a technolog yen vironment could have a
broader impact on sharing in general. Earlier, sharing was more markedly a question of
exchange, but digital technologies have changed it to a hybrid of exchange and distribution
(Wittel, 2011). Considering the specific activi ties described in different studies, the terms
information sharing and knowledge sharing can be used interchangeably (Savolainen, 2017).
Some researchers have beendoing this for some time (e.g.Ahmad, 2017b; Widén-Wulff, 2007).
In this study,we focus on information sharing at the interpersonal level, that is, the exchange
of work-related information between employees within an organization.
Earlier research has suggested that, in general, sharing leads to positive outcomes,
whereas withholding and asymmetry of information tend to have negative outcomes (Tong
and Crosno, 2015). Sharing is a prerequisite for becoming informed (e.g. Khoir et al., 2015); it
plays a role in the emergence of social capital (Huvila et al., 2014), it is an integral aspect of
information practices (Almehmadi et al., 2014; Du, 2014) and it is critical for successful work
in many contexts (Choo et al., 2006). In teams, it contributes to team performance, cohesion
and knowledge integration (Mesmer-Magnus and DeChurch, 2009). Information sharing is
also important for decision making in groups (Mishra, 2014). Many of the same factors, most
notably trust (Wilson, 2010), but also, for instance, social capital (Tötterman and
Widén-Wulff, 2007) have also been recognized as antecedents to information sharing. The
specific significance of trust has been explained by the critical importance of social
integration in information sharing, in comparison to, for instance, technical infrastructures
or external incentives (Hall and Widen, 2008).
Positive outcomes have been observed to be related to sharing at both organizational and
individual levels (Henttonen et al., 2016). On an organizational level, increased sharing has
been suggested to lead to a positive organizational culture (Singh and Soltani, 2010) and
changes in organizational culture have been suggested as a means to improve information
678
AJIM
71,5
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