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An Empirical Inquiry on Knowledge Sharing Among Academicians in Higher Learning Institutions

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Abstract

Universities are expected to be places where knowledge is shared freely among academicians. However, the reality shows that knowledge sharing is barely present within universities these days. As Malaysia shifts towards building a knowledge-based society, academic institutions, particularly the public universities, now face ever-growing faculty demands for sharing quality resources and expertise. As a result, knowledge sharing in academia has become a rising concern. The purpose of this study, then, is to uncover the factors that propel knowledge sharing among academicians in higher learning institutions of Malaysia. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action as the basis for this study’s research framework, data was gathered from 447 academicians in 10 public universities scattered throughout the country. Findings from the Partial Least Squares analysis revealed that extrinsic motivation, reciprocal relationships, sense of self-worth and subjective norm are vital determinants of an academician’s attitude towards knowledge sharing. In turn, this attitude that is formed will largely determine whether the academician engages in knowledge sharing behaviors or not. Besides having a positive effect on attitude, sense of self-worth also exhibited a positive impact on the subjective norm to share knowledge. Consequently, this subjective norm will have an impact upon knowledge sharing behavior. In addition, perceived behavioral control and organizational climate were discovered to have a direct influence on knowledge sharing behaviors. Implications, limitations as well as suggestions for future research are accordingly discussed in this paper.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Universiti Sains Malaysia for funding this research under the Research University Grant (PMGT/1001/811036).

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  1. School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia

    T. Ramayah & Jasmine A. L. Yeap

  2. School of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia

    Joshua Ignatius

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  1. T. Ramayah
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Correspondence to Jasmine A. L. Yeap.

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Ramayah, T., Yeap, J.A.L. & Ignatius, J. An Empirical Inquiry on Knowledge Sharing Among Academicians in Higher Learning Institutions. Minerva 51, 131–154 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-013-9229-7

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