Governing Individual Knowledge Sharing Behavior

The emerging Knowledge Governance Approach asserts the need to build microfoundations grounded in individual action. Toward this goal, using the Theory of Planned Behavior, we aim to explain individual knowledge sharing behavior as being determined by the intention to share knowledge and its antecedents: attitude toward knowledge sharing, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. In addition, we consider managerial interventions (governance mechanisms) that managers can employ to influence the identified antecedents and thereby govern individual knowledge sharing behavior. We test the model arrived at on a dataset collected among individuals engaged in knowledge sharing in two competing firms. Results of the LISREL analysis show that the use of rewards affects attitudes toward knowledge sharing negatively, while the use of reciprocal schemes and communication mechanisms have a positive effect on subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, respectively.