Assessing Knowledge Sharing Among Academics: A Validation of the Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale (KSBS)

Unleashing the role of e-word of mouth on purchase intention in select Facebook fan pages of smart phone users

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to examine the impact of e-WOM on customer purchase intentions in Facebook fan pages using theories of trust, value co-creation and brand attitude. The present research has set out to explore this emerging domain of study and has thus developed & tested propositions which attempt to establish a relationship between e-WOM and customer's purchase intentions. A deeper understanding of this possible association is obtained by studying the mediating roles of Trust, Value Co-Creation, Brand Image and Brand Attitude.

METHODOLOGY

The context for exploring this phenomenon is chosen to be the fan pages of smartphone brands on Facebook. The study involved conducting a sample survey of 490 respondents, comprising of both male and female, who belong to 5 smartphone brands Facebook fan pages-Samsung, Moto G, Lenovo, MI and ASUS are considered for the study. Out of which sample of 100 each has been targeted individually.

FINDINGS

The findings suggested that e-WOM significantly predicts the purchase intentions of the customers of a specific product and considerable impacted on the purchase decision. The findings of the study also reveal that customer 's trust beliefs, perceived value co-creation, brand image and brand attitude partially mediate in between relationships of e-WOM and purchase intention.

CONCLUSION

The actual presence of different types of consumer electronics brands on the social media, more prominently, the smartphones, which undoubtedly are the most ubiquitous product of this segment. In fact, this indicates that presence on social media is a well- thought organizational strategy developed by companies to gain partial control over the customer 's decision- making process by establishing a close connect with the customers for a long period.

IMPLICATION

This consequence will significantly impact the decision-making process of marketers or practitioners in relation to their marketing tactics. This research also indicates that marketers could devise more effective methods for distributing marketing content through social networking sites, while corporations can cultivate favorable electronic word-of-mouth for their products or services. Through the implementation of social media marketing strategies, companies can increase their sales volume and generate higher revenue. The study examined the role of trust, virtual community participation, and desire to purchase as mediators on smartphone brand fan sites on Facebook. It was observed that these factors had a partial influence on customer purchase intention.

Teacher Knowledge Sharing and Reflection as Predictors of Teacher Professional Development: A Case of Iranian TEFL Faculty Members

Despite the accumulated body of research on teachers' professional development few have offered a relationship between professional development and knowledge sharing or reflective practice. We investigated whether Iranian Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) teachers' reflective teaching and their knowledge sharing can predict their professional success. To answer the research questions a quantitative approach was utilized. Then, 264 faculty members through available sampling were recruited using three questionnaires, namely reflective teaching measurement scale by Akbari et al. (System, 38(2): 211-227, 2010), teacher professional development scale by Soodmand Afshar and Ghasemi (J Teach Lang Skills 37: 169-210, 2018), and Teachers' knowledge sharing behavior by Ramayah et al. (Eval Rev 38(2): 1-28, 2014). Findings showed that knowledge sharing has a significant relationship with professional development (P < 0.001). In addition, teachers' reflective practice has a significant relationship with professional development (P < 0.001). Based on the findings we suggest that TEFL teachers should promote their knowledge sharing and reflection to improve their professional development.

The perceived leaders' authentic leadership, knowledge sharing within the team, and faculty members' creativity: A cross-sectional online survey in nursing academia

BACKGROUND

There hasn't been much recent research on leaders' authentic leadership, knowledge sharing within the team, and faculty members' creativity.

AIM

This study examined the perceived variables and predictors of academic nursing leaders' authentic leadership by their nursing faculty members, knowledge sharing within the team, and nursing faculty members' own creativity.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design using a survey instrument was employed to answer the research questions.

METHODS

A convenience snowball sample of 105 academic nursing faculty members who worked at various universities in Jordan was recruited.

RESULTS

Academic nursing leaders' authentic leadership, knowledge sharing within the team, and nursing faculty members' creativity were perceived high by nursing faculty members. The highest and lowest means of the three concepts were reported. As evidenced by correlations, knowledge sharing within the team related to nursing faculty members' creativity without affecting academic nursing leaders' authentic leadership. The perceived academic nursing leaders' authentic leadership didn't predict knowledge sharing within the team or faculty members' creativity.

CONCLUSIONS

The current research fills critical voids in the reviewed literature. The results augment nursing leadership knowledge in academic settings. Academic nursing leaders' authentic leadership didn't predict knowledge sharing within the team or faculty members' creativity. These findings raise the flag; authentic nursing leadership should be synergized in conducive academic environments with other factors that may promote nursing faculty members' creativity, such as psychological safety and team environment.

Defensive Silence, Defensive Voice, Knowledge Hiding, and Counterproductive Work Behavior Through the Lens of Stimulus-Organism-Response

Rising negative emotions are like “time bombs” that impede productivity in the workplace. The present investigation provides an insight into the effects of defensive silence and defensive voice on counterproductive work behavior through knowledge hiding in the context of knowledge workers in Chinese academic institutions. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to the current samples. The study obtained conjecture the proposed mediating role of knowledge hiding between the negative working attitude and counterproductive work behavior, which is against the organizational norms and performance. The result indicates that the positive relationships exist from defensive silence and defensive voice to counterproductive work behavior, mediated by knowledge hiding. This study links knowledge hiding literature and stimulus-organism-response (SOR) to better explore the academic behavior in a knowledge setting.

Knowledge sharing behavior among critical care nurse specialists: A cross-sectional study

AIMS

To investigate the knowledge sharing behavior of critical care nurse specialists and identify potential influencing factors.

BACKGROUND

The specialist knowledge of critical care nurses is an important resource for the nursing team. It is necessary to investigate influencing factors of knowledge sharing behavior of them.

METHODS

Convenience sampling was used to conduct an investigation involving critical care nurse specialists from three provinces in China between October 2018 and June 2019. Practice Environment Scale, Competency Inventory for Registered Nurses, Knowledge Self-efficacy Scale, and knowledge sharing behavior Scale were utilized.

RESULTS

The knowledge sharing behavior score of critical care nurse specialists was 64.84±11.53. The results of the regression analysis showed that the level of education, position, involvement of nurses in hospital affairs, knowledge, self-efficacy, sex, average number of night shifts per month, years engaged in nursing work, type of employment, leadership skills, critical thinking ability, and manpower and material resources accounted for 45.9% of the variance.

CONCLUSIONS

Critical care nurse specialists exhibited limited knowledge sharing behavior. Therefore, interventions based on the dependent variables are necessary.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Knowledge sharing behavior of critical care nurse specialists remains at a low level. Hence, it is necessary to encourage their greater participation according to associated factors.

Timeliness in information sharing within creative industries. Case: Finnish game design

Purpose

This article aims to examine instances of timeliness and temporality in information sharing conducted by members of the Finnish game design community. By doing so, it provides new knowledge into the ways in which organizational information practices may take place on an individual and interpersonal level, and the ways in which timeliness impact information sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on three sets of interviews, gathered in 2012–2014, 2017–2018 and 2018–2020.

Findings

The authors identify six themes of information sharing and show that time is strongly tied to the ways in which people in the Finnish game development industry share information outside of their own companies.

Originality/value

This type of information sharing has not been previously researched. This study brings forth new knowledge on how timeliness influence information sharing within creative industries.

Knowledge sharing behaviour of overqualified repatriates

Purpose

Organizations send their employees for international assignments so as to develop their international working experiences, their global knowledge and skills. These employees are then expected to return to their home countries (hereof known as repatriates) to share their newly gained knowledge or skills with their colleagues. This practice would benefit the organization's performance to some extent. Nonetheless, past literature had pointed out that many of such repatriates tend to leave their respective organizations as a result of not being able to fully utilize their newly acquired knowledge and skills, which led them to perceive that they were overqualified. This occurrence could lead to a loss of valuable knowledge for their organization. Aiming to address this issue at hand, the current study focuses on examining of the antecedents that could influence these repatriates' knowledge sharing behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a research framework which was developed from three aspects of interest–perceived overqualification, affective commitment and the moderating effect of repatriation support practices on knowledge sharing behaviour of repatriates. Structural model analysis was carried out to assess 152 useable data which were collected from returning corporate repatriates in Malaysia. The SmartPLS 3.0 software was applied.

Findings

Repatriates with highly perceived overqualifications tend to exhibit low affective commitment. The impact of their perceived overqualification on knowledge sharing behaviour was fully mediated by their affective commitment. Repatriation support practice was found to strengthen the positive relationship between affective commitment and knowledge sharing behaviour.

Originality/value

The use of the relative deprivation theory showed that the outcome derived from this study could serve as an insight for organizations to understand how those repatriates' perception of overqualification influences their level of affective commitment, and subsequently, the extent to which they share knowledge upon returning.

The explanatory power of social cognitive theory in determining knowledge sharing among Saudi faculty

Knowledge sharing positively and significantly improves academics' research, instruction and community service. The study of knowledge sharing in Saudi higher education is limited and offers little guidance to administrators, as well as faculty on how to capitalize on knowledge sharing and utilize it to their own and organizations' benefits. This research presents findings from an original quantitative study testing a structural equation model linking social cognitive theory to knowledge sharing collection and donation measured by validated scales from the extant literature. Community characteristics including altruism and reputation carry significant positive effects on knowledge sharing collection and donation. Similarly, personal outcomes expectations possess a moderate positive effect on knowledge sharing collection and donation. Self-efficacy in knowledge sharing emerged as an important predictor of knowledge sharing activities among Saudi academics. The findings suggest the need for developing professional training seminars on using social media for knowledge sharing in formal departmental and college settings. Further, the results confirm the relevance of social cognitive theory for the study of knowledge sharing. This creates the need for Saudi universities to invest in mentorship programs using digital platforms where personal and community outcomes' expectations are likely to improve among academics thereby increasing knowledge sharing activity.

Knowledge sharing among academics: why organizational narcissism in higher education matters?

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the effects of organizational narcissism on four knowledge-sharing aspects among academics: publications, personal interactions, organizational communication and network interaction.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a sample of 288 research groups from public and private universities in Colombia. The study used structural equations by the partial least squares method (PLS).

Findings

The results indicate that organizational narcissism has a positive and significant influence on the four knowledge-sharing aspects analysed. The greatest effect of organizational narcissism is generated in organizational communication, followed by personal interactions, network interaction and publications.

Originality/value

This work contributes to developing the emerging theoretical perspective which gives greater attention to the analysis of organizational behaviours considered strategic given their potential to dynamize knowledge sharing as opposed to focusing on how publications are affected by fragments or specific aspects of organizational culture. The findings show organizational narcissism is one of such strategic behaviours. Moreover, the study sheds light on the controversy between positions for and against organizational narcissism, and the results contradict previous studies that highlight the negative repercussions of this organizational behaviour on publications. In addition, our work provides a perspective that allows for a broader view in evaluating the actual extent of the impact of organizational narcissism, which is not exclusively limited to the publication dimension. In this way, the research horizons of organizational narcissism are also expanded, as regrettably it was long seen as a phenomenon that occurred almost exclusively in the business context.

Intellectual Capital Management and University Research Group Performance: Mediating Effects of Machiavellianism and Organisational Narcissism

The purpose of the present study is to analyse the mediating effects of organisational Machiavellianism and narcissism on the relationship between intellectual capital management (ICM) and university research group performance (URGP). The hypothesis model is tested with a sample of 288 research groups from Colombian public and private universities, since these groups are responsible for producing knowledge in the country. For the data analysis, structural equations by the partial least squares method are used. The study results show that only organisational narcissism has a mediating effect, which is partial. In conclusion, the research group must adopt narcissistic behaviours and practices, which improve the perceptions it has of its members and of its own knowledge and capacities. In this way, the group will achieve greater presence in its knowledge area and academic spaces, which leads to a better exploitation of knowledge assets and to improvements in research group performance (RGP).

Knowledge sharing in higher education institutions: a systematic review

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to help in providing a better understanding on knowledge sharing amongst academics in higher education institutions (HEIs). The aim of this study is realized by profiling existing literature to understand the determinants of knowledge sharing, research trends, theories, and future research opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

After carefully examining the extant literature and by utilizing relevant academic-based research databases, a total of 73 papers published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade were reviewed and analyzed using well-established systematic literature review methodology.

Findings

The adopted systematic review revealed that there are limited contributions in understanding knowledge sharing in HEIs when compared with other sectors. The review provides a number of avenues for future research including technological, cultural, organizational, and behavioral aspects at different levels.

Practical implications

This study helps in offering a focal point to senior management in HEIs for realizing the requirements for developing appropriate strategies and programs to promote knowledge sharing among academics and consequently enhance their institutions’ performance.

Originality/value

This study utilized Jesson et al. (2011) in presenting a comprehensive systematic review of knowledge sharing specifically in the context of HEIs. This paper offers some theoretical and practical insights on what contributes toward understating the determinates affecting knowledge sharing practices among academics.

Harnessing network-based intellectual capital in online academic networks. From the organizational policies and practices towards competitiveness

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate the standpoints and practices of university members from European developing countries regarding the harnessing of the intellectual capital (IC) within online academic social networks.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire-based survey with 210 university members was conducted, with the indicators adopting prior measurement scales which were further adapted to a network framework.

Findings

The organizational policies and practices relate positively and highly significantly with the valuation of the network-based IC components. Moreover, 63 per cent of the professional and organizational competitiveness of higher education institutions is determined by the exploitation of the IC embedded in online academic networks.

Research limitations/implications

All survey respondents were from the European developing countries, which may limit the general applicability of the findings. Also, the emphasis is laid solely on online academic networks.

Practical implications

This paper brings to the fore both the potential and the state-of-the-art in leveraging the IC of online specialized networks which are indicative of the academic field. When acknowledged as such, the network-based IC is liable to generate substantial competitive advantages at the professional and organizational levels at the same time.

Originality/value

This research adds to the extant literature in two main ways. First, it advances a new construct – network-based IC – in the context of the online academic social networks. Second, it proposes a research model for addressing the network-based IC from a competitive advantage perspective.

Validity of the Parenting Stress Index Short Form in a Sample of At-Risk Mothers

BACKGROUND

The Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF) is a widely used instrument in scientific literature to evaluate the levels of stress a parent feels when facing parenting-related tasks. Despite the potential usefulness of the PSI-SF with at-risk families, no validation studies have been carried out on this population in Spain.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this study is to report evidences of the reliability and validity of PSI-SF with a sample of at-risk mothers. Specifically, (1) to examine the discriminative capacity of PSI-SF to differentiate between a community sample and another sample composed of families with various levels of risk and (2) to analyze the relationships with general health indicators and parental sense of competence.

RESULTS

Analyses reported in this article show satisfactory results regarding appropriate internal consistency coefficients for the scale. With respect to the evidences of validity, results reported here suggest that the total PSI-SF score, but not the two subscales, could be useful to differentiate between different groups of mothers with different levels of risk. The Childrearing stress subscale was associated with a poorer perception as a mother as well as with an external locus of control, and the Personal distress subscale was related to all the general health indicators, explaining a high percentage of variance.

CONCLUSION

The results reported show that the total score or the subscales should be used in a differentiated way according to the professional's objectives. Hence, PSI-SF may be a useful instrument for researchers and practitioners who work with at-risk families.