The effect of the motivation of regu latory focus on the process of knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Ali Biranvand ¹
• Kimia Sahraian ²
• Elham Ghobadi Azad ^{3, 4}

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

² Assistante professor, Department of Psychology, Higher Education Center of Eghlid, Eghlid, Iran.

³ M.S. Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

⁴ Library expert of the Faculty of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical sciences.

10.22067/infosci.2024.87424.1200

Abstract

Introduction: Considering the importance of motivational factors in the process of sharing or concealing knowledge, this research investigates the effect of the motivation dimensions of supervisory focus on full sharing, partial sharing, and concealment of knowledge from the viewpoint of Shiraz dental faculty employees in the year 2024 has been paid..

Methodology: The current research is of an applied type, which was carried out in a descriptive-survey way. The number of people was 300, and the sample size was determined to be 140. A systematic random method was used for sampling. Ariel (2016) questionnaire was used in this research. In order to analyze the collected data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods and statistical software Spss25 and SmartPLS were used. In order to analyze the data in the inferential statistics section of the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test, partial least squares and goodness-of-fit methods were used using SmartPLS and SPSS25 software.

Findings: The promotion focus increases full knowledge sharing, but it does not lead to partial knowledge sharing. Also, increasing the promotion focus reduces the hiding of knowledge. On the other hand, the prevention focus has a positive and significant effect on full and partial sharing of knowledge, but it does not have a significant effect on the concealment of employees' knowledge. Therefore, increasing the prevention focus will increase the sharing of knowledge in full and partial form.

Conclusion: Having the promotion focus reduces the knowledge hiding and increases the action to share knowledge. Employees with prevention-focused motivation share their knowledge, albeit partially. Because they prefer transferring their experience and knowledge over safety and gaining a competitive advantage, and instead of hiding knowledge, they share it.

Keywords

• Regulatory Focus theory
• promotion focus
• prevention focus
• knowledge sharing
• knowledge hiding

Main Subjects

• Knowledge Management

---

References

Amato, Silvano; Esposito Vinzi, Vincenzo; & Tenenhaus, Michel. (2004). A global goodness-of-fit index for PLS structural equation modeling. Oral Communication to PLS Club, HEC School of Management, France, March, 24(1), 4.

Ariel, Belzer. (2016). Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Hiding and the Behaviors in Between: the Regulatory-Focus Motives Underlying the Knowledge Sharing Decision-Making Processes. University of Haifa.

Asterhan, Christa SC; & Bouton, Edith. (2017). Teenage peer-to-peer knowledge sharing through social network sites in secondary schools. Computers & Education, 110, 16–34.

Chen, Wei; Wei, Xiahua; & Zhu, Kevin Xiaoguo. (2018). Engaging Voluntary Contributions in Online Communities. Mis Quarterly, 42(1), 83–A8.

Chun-Ling, ZHU; & Xiao-Long, CHEN. (2013). Study of the relationship among high performance work systems, knowledge sharing and employee creativity. Economic Theory and Business Management, 33(11), 102.

Davenport, T. H., De Long, D. W., & Beers, M. C. (1998). Successful knowledge management projects. MIT Sloan management review, 39(2), 43.

Esangbedo, Moses Olabhele; & Bai, Sijun. (2019). Grey regulatory focus theory weighting method for the multi-criteria decision-making problem in evaluating university reputation. Symmetry, 11(2), 230.

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics.

Friedman, Ronald S; & Förster, Jens. (2001). The effects of promotion and prevention cues on creativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1001.

Gorman, C Allen; Meriac, John P; Overstreet, Benjamin L; Apodaca, Steven; McIntyre, Ashley L; Park, Paul; & Godbey, Jennifer N. (2012). A meta-analysis of the regulatory focus nomological network: Work-related antecedents and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(1), 160–172.

Hao, Li; & Luanluan, Lv. (2019). Influence of prevention focus and motivational climate on knowledge hiding in enterprises. Science Research Management, 40(4), 245.

Higgins, E Tory. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52(12), 1280.

Huie, Carol P; Cassaberry, Tameka; & Rivera, Amari K. (2020). The impact of tacit knowledge sharing on job performance. International Journal on Social and Education Sciences, 2(1), 34–40.

Hung, Shin-Yuan; Tsai, Jacob Chia-An; Chen, Kuanchin; Chen, Charlie; & Yeh, Ting-Ting. (2023). Tacit knowledge sharing in information systems development projects: social interdependence and regulatory focus perspectives. Information Technology & People, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-08-2022-0587

Issac, Abraham Cyril; Bednall, Timothy Colin; Baral, Rupashree; Magliocca, Pierpaolo; & Dhir, Amandeep. (2022). The effects of expert power and referent power on knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding. Journal of Knowledge Management, 27(2), 383-403. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-10-2021-0750

Jarvenpaa, Sirkka L; & Majchrzak, Ann. (2016). Interactive self-regulatory theory for sharing and protecting in interorganizational collaborations. Academy of Management Review, 41(1), 9–27.

Jihye Lee, Seckyoung Loretta Kim; & Yun, Seokhwa. (2023). Encouraging employee voice: coworker knowledge sharing, psychological safety, and promotion focus. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(5), 1044-1069. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.2018014

Kmieciak, Roman. (2024). The contagious effect of bullying knowledge hiding: exploring the role of job stress and power values. Journal of Knowledge Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2023-0420

Majchrzak, Ann; Wagner, Christian; & Yates, Dave. (2013). The impact of shaping on knowledge reuse for organizational improvement with wikis. MIS Quarterly, 455–469.

Mantegh, Hassan; Zandian, Fatemh; Hassanzadeh, Mohammad; & Sharif, Atefeh. (2023). Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Organizational Trust and Knowledge Sharing. Library and Information Science Research, 13(2), 5–26.

Masa’deh, Ra’ed. (2016). The role of knowledge management infrastructure in enhancing job satisfaction at Aqaba five star hotels in Jordan. Communications and Network, 8(04), 219–240.

Najafpour Moghadam, Parvin; Biranvand, Ali; & Rasekh Jahromi, Erfaneh. (2023). Investigating the effect of organizational climate on knowledge sharing and innovative work behavior (Case study: knowledge-based companies in Fars province). Library and Information Science Research, 13(2), 216–197.[In Persian]

Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (2007). The knowledge-creating company. Harvard business review, 85(7/8), 162.

Ogbomo, Monday; Odede, Israel; & Eniekebi, Regina Ejiroghene. (2023). Information Management and Knowledge Culture as Determinants of Librarians’ Productivity in University Libraries in South-South, Nigeria. Rivers State University Journal of Education, 26(1), 119–129.

Plínio Silva de Garcia, Mírian Oliveira; & Brohman, Kathryn. (2022). Knowledge sharing, hiding and hoarding: how are they related? Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 20(3), 339-351. https://doi.org/10.1080/14778238.2020.1774434

Qiu, Xinlu; & Haugland, Sven A. (2019). The role of regulatory focus and trustworthiness in knowledge transfer and leakage in alliances. Industrial Marketing Management, 83, 162–173.

Quadri, Ganiyu Oluwaseyi; & Adegbore, Adebayo Muritala. (2023). Factors hindering knowledge sharing practices among librarians: a study of UTAUT. Library Philosophy & Practice.

Sarvestani, Maryam Shafiei; Biranvand, Ali; & Shojaeifard, Ali. (2022). Organisational trust and tacit knowledge transfer. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 42(5), 325–330.

Serenko, Alexander; & Bontis, Nick. (2016). Negotiate, reciprocate, or cooperate? The impact of exchange modes on inter-employee knowledge sharing. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(4), 687–712.

Shaikh, Fatima; Afshan, Gul; Anwar, Rana Salman; Abbas, Zuhair; & Chana, Khalil Ahmed. (2023). Analyzing the impact of artificial intelligence on employee productivity: the mediating effect of knowledge sharing and well-being. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 61(4), 794–820.

Shang, YF; Xu, J; Zhao, XY; & Xu, AL. (2016). Study of knowledge hiding in scientific research teams of universities based on regulatory focus theory in Web2. 0 situation. Sci. Sci. Manage. S. &, 37, 83–94.

Shin, Yuhyung; Kim, Mihee; Choi, Jin Nam; & Lee, Sang-Hoon. (2016). Does team culture matter? Roles of team culture and collective regulatory focus in team task and creative performance. Group & Organization Management, 41(2), 232–265.

Škerlavaj, Miha; Connelly, Catherine E.; Cerne, Matej; & Dysvik, Anders. (2018). Tell me if you can: time pressure, prosocial motivation, perspective taking, and knowledge hiding. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(7), 1489-1509. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2017-0179

Sun, Jiaqing; Li, Wen-Dong; Li, Yuhui; Liden, Robert C; Li, Shuping; & Zhang, Xin. (2021). Unintended consequences of being proactive? Linking proactive personality to coworker envy, helping, and undermining, and the moderating role of prosocial motivation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(2), 250.

Teixeira, Jaime; Oliveira, Mírian; Curado, Carla; & Araújo, Clécio. (2023). Practices that Mitigate Organizational Knowledge Hiding: A Systematic Literature Review. In European Conference on Knowledge Management (Vol. 2, pp. 1338–R35). Academic Conferences International Limited.

Thalmann, Stefan; Maier, Ronald; Remus, Ulrich; & Manhart, Markus. (2024). Connect with care: informal knowledge protection practices to enhance knowledge sharing in networks of organizations. VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/VJIKMS-02-2022-0051

Tian, Xizhou; Peng, Xiqiang; & Peng, Xiaoping. (2021). Influence of prosocial motivation on employee creativity: the moderating role of regulatory focus and the mediating role of knowledge sharing. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 704630.

Vriend, Tim; Hamstra, Melvyn RW; Said, Ramzi; Janssen, Onne; Jordan, Jennifer; & Nijstad, Bernard A. (2023). Regulatory focus theory: Disentangling goals and strategies. Applied Psychology, 72(1), 231–267.

Werth, Lioba; & Foerster, Jens. (2007). How regulatory focus influences consumer behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37(1), 33–51.

Zhou, Hao; Lirong, Long; & Yuqing, Wang. (2016). Overall justice, affective commitment and deviant behavior: from the perspective of multifoci. Management Review, 28(11), 162.