Exploring behavioral transfer from knowledge seeking to knowledge contributing: The mediating role of intrinsic motivation

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Abstract

Knowledge contributing has long been identified as a bottleneck in knowledge management since individuals tend to believe that their contributing would not be worth the effort, given high levels of expectation to receive some value in return. Self-perception theory posits that individuals come to "know" their own internal beliefs by inferring them partially from observations of their own overt behavior. Building on self-perception theory and adhering to the principle that the relationship between behavior and beliefs is one of mutual influence, we develop a research model to explore the behavioral transfer from knowledge seeking to knowledge contributing and consider the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation. Data collected from 430 users of Web 2.0 applications were used to test the model. The mediating role of intrinsic motivation between knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing is confirmed. These findings and their implications for theory and practice are discussed. © 2013 ASIS&T.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1144-1157
JournalJournal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
Volume64
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2013

Research Keywords

  • knowledge
  • motivation

Publisher's Copyright Statement

  • COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED POSTPRINT FILE: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Yan, Y., & Davison, R. M. (2013). Exploring behavioral transfer from knowledge seeking to knowledge contributing: The mediating role of intrinsic motivation. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 64(6), 1144-1157, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.22820.
  • This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.

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