Factors influencing academics` knowledge - sharing behaviour in the United Arab Emirates public universities /by Huda Skaik

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the practice of knowledge sharing among academics in United Arab Emirates public universities, explore the level of sharing the types of knowledge, examine the relationship between knowledge sharing behaviour and its predictors, and identify the factors that indirectly influence knowledge sharing behaviour through its predictors. The research adopted Ajzen’s Amended Theory of Planned Behaviour as theoretical framework. The significance of this research emerges from the fact that instilling a knowledge sharing culture in academic institutions is fundamental for their development, success, competitiveness, provision of high standards education, and fully benefiting from academics’ intellectual knowledge. Thus, this research is the first to address knowledge sharing in higher education in United Arab Emirates. The research was designed using a quantitative approach employing online survey through using an Internet-based questionnaire. Data were collected from 321 academics in ten public universities and were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Partial Least Square- Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The analysis process involved assessment of the measurement model to evaluate its reliability and validity, and assessment of the structural model to evaluate its validity, and test the research hypotheses. The results showed a great extent of knowledge sharing practice and medium to high levels of sharing explicit and tacit knowledge among the surveyed academics. Furthermore, the results revealed that academics’ knowledge sharing behaviour is significantly influenced by intention, which in turn is significantly influenced by attitude, subjective norms, and self-efficacy, while controllability was not found to influence intention. Also, the results showed that attitude is positively influenced by trust and reputation as motivators of knowledge sharing; whereas, controllability is negatively influenced by lack of time and poor communication as barriers of knowledge sharing. This research sheds light on the applicability of theory of planned behaviour in knowledge sharing context, and fills in the gap in literature on knowledge sharing behaviour particularly in academic institutions.