To share or not to share: Hidden agendas in knowledge sharing

Abstract

Many innovative knowledge management systems failed to reach its full potential not only because of technical problems and organizational barriers but also because social actors are not motivated to share in the first place. Although current studies have identified a variety of motivational factors which may inhibit knowledge sharing, we still know relatively little about the implicit reasons, or hidden agendas, underlying these factors. This field-based study investigates an unsuccessful adoption of a knowledge-sharing system which is employed to facilitating supply chain operations across two locations - Taiwan and China. It highlights the dilemma of knowledge-sharing encountered by engineers based in the two organizations. This analysis also illustrates how explicit incentive mechanisms may only induce insignificant improvement but reinforce counterproductive collaborative behavior. This research analyzes such knowledge-sharing dilemmas through organizational members' implicit concerns in, and fears of, exchanging knowledge with their colleagues. The findings offer important implications for promoting knowledge sharing within engineer communities and examine the challenges of knowledge-management system adoption in Asian context.