A Study of Relationship between Knowledge Sharing and Self-efficacy of Researchers Working at Malek Ashtar University of Technology (MUT)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Morteza Dehghan Sefidkooh ¹
• ahmad shabani ²
• Saeed Rajaeepour ²

¹ Malek Ahstar University of Technology(MUT).

² University of Isfahan

10.22067/riis.v7i2.60947

Abstract

INTRUDUCTION: The research aimed at investigating the relationship between knowledge sharing and self-efficacy (willingness to initiate behavior, willingness to expend effort in completing the behavior, persistence in the face of adversity) among researchers working at Malek Ahstar University of Technology (MUT).

METHODOLOGY: With regard to the objectives, the research is an applied one, its method is descriptive and its type is correlational. The research population comprised all 242 researchers at MUT in 2016. Through stratified random sampling and on the basis of collegiate complex, college or research center, 165 researchers were selected as the study sample for the present study. In order to obtain the required data, 165 questionnaires including a researcher-made demographic questionnaire, another researcher mad 20-item questionnaire based on Dixon’s model, and Scherer and Madox's self-efficacy standard questionnaire were provided and administered among the sample. Eventually, 161 fully completed questionnaires were returned to the researcher. The content validity used for determining the validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficients results were acceptable in indicating the reliability of the questionnaire that amounted to .89 for the knowledge sharing scale and .82 for the self-efficacy questionnaire.

FINDINGS: The result of the research indicates that there is a significant relationship between knowledge sharing and self-efficacy among MUT researchers. The relationship was observable at all levels of knowledge sharing components including serial, near, far, expert and strategic transfer. The most powerful relationship was between serial knowledge sharing and self-efficacy while the lowest relationship was between strategic knowledge sharing and self-efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS: Considering the existence of a significant relationship between knowledge sharing and self-efficacy, the MUT management and authorities should promote their attitude to and perspective in on knowledge sharing and more consider the role and effect of individual’s team work interaction in research teams by means of defining joint projects for the individuals concerned.

Keywords

• Knowledge sharing
• Self-efficacy
• Researcher's self-efficacy
• Knowledge transfer
• Malek Ahstar University of Technology (MUT)

---

References

اثرزاده، رضا، بجانی، حسین و ملکی نیا، عماد. (1390). بررسی خودکارآمدی نیروی انسانی در سازمان‌ها و ارائه الگوی مفهومی برای سنجش آن. دوماهنامه توسعه انسانی پلیس، 6(3)، 95-117.

قلیچ‌لی، بهروز، حکیمی‌تهرانی، دل‌آرام. (1392). تسهیم دانش و کیفیت خدمات واحدهای سازمانی (مورد مطالعه: بانک پارسیان). چشم انداز مدیریت دولتی، (13)،85-106.

نصیری، بهروز، خالدی، هیوا و عباسیان، عبدالحسین. (1393). بررسی تأثیر تسهیم دانش بر عملکرد کارکنان بر اساس مدل نانسی دیکسون (موردمطالعه؛ شرکت توربوتک). در مجموعه مقالات اولین کنفرانس بین‌المللی مدیریت در قرن بیست و یکم. تهران، مردادماه 1393، مرکز همایش‌های بین‌المللی صداوسیما.

نجاتی، یاشار. (1393). بررسی رابطۀ بین مدیریت دانش و خودکارآمدی در دانشجویان تربیت‌بدنی دانشگاه تبریز. (پایان‌نامۀ کارشناسی ارشد). دانشکده تربیت‌بدنی و علوم ورزشی، دانشگاه تبریز.

هادیزداده‌مقدم، اکرم، قلیچ‌لی، بهروز و محبی، پروین. (1392). بررسی رابطۀ بین تسهیم دانش و نوآوری در سازمان‌های خدمات مالی: بانک رفاه کارگران. پژوهش‌های مدیریت در ایران، 17(1)، 188-207.

Al Kurdi, O. F. A., Ghoneim, A., & Al Roubaie, A. (2015). Knowledge sharing culture in higher education: Critical. In Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century II. doi: 10.13140/2.1.2056.7043

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. United States: Prentice Hall.

Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American psychologist, 37(2), 122. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.37.2.122

Chen, C. J., & Huang, J. W. (2007). How organizational climate and structure affect knowledge management: The social interaction perspective. International Journal of Information Management, 27(2), 104-118. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2006.11.001

Chen, S., Chuang, Y., & Chen, P. (2012). Behavioral intention formation in knowledge sharing: Examining the roles of KMS quality, KMS self-efficacy, and organizational climate. Knowledge-Based Systems, 31, 106-118. doi: 10.1016/j.knosys.2012.02.001

Dixon, N.M. (2000). Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know. Boston: Harvard Business Press.

Hu, W. W. (2010, November). Self-efficacy and individual knowledge sharing. Paper presented in 3rd International Conference on Information Management, Innovation Management and Industrial Engineering. Kunming, China. doi: 10.1109/ICIII.2010.261

King, W. R. (2011). Knowledge sharing. In Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management, Second Edition (pp. 914-923). IGI Global.

Kohansal, M. A., Alimoradi, Z., & Bohloul, S. M. (2013). The impact of knowledge-sharing mechanisms on employee performance. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 14(3), 293-306. doi: 10.1504/IJBPM.2013.054954

Lichvar, B.T (2011). An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of Knowledge Sharing and Encouragement by Others in Predicting Computer Self-Efficacy and Use of Information Systems in the Workplace (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/214/

Master, D. (2013). Knowledge sharing, job satisfaction, and self-efficacy among trainers from one California training and development organization: A case study (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://goo.gl/hXzEBg

Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Review of Educational Research, 66(4), 543-578. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/E646mZ

Sherer, M., Maddux, J. E., Mercandante, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Jacobs, B., & Rogers, R. W. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51(2), 663–671. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1982.51.2.663