ERIC Number: EJ984934
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0144-929X
EISSN: N/A
Knowledge-Sharing in Virtual Communities: Familiarity, Anonymity and Self-Determination Theory
Yoon, Cheolho; Rolland, Erik
Behaviour & Information Technology, v31 n11 p1133-1143 2012
Although the role of motivation has been emphasised in knowledge-sharing literature, traditional motivation theories, such as self-determination theory (SDT), have not been actively used as a research framework in knowledge-sharing research. The purposes of this study are twofold. The first objective is to propose a model, based on SDT, to test the effect of the three basic psychological needs--perceived competence, perceived autonomy and perceived relatedness--on knowledge-sharing behaviours in virtual communities. The second objective is to explore the effects of familiarity and anonymity on the basic psychological needs to better understand individuals' knowledge-sharing behaviours in virtual communities. The results show that perceived competence and perceived relatedness influence knowledge-sharing behaviours in virtual communities; however, perceived autonomy does not influence knowledge-sharing behaviours; familiarity influences positively perceived competence and perceived relatedness, and anonymity influences negatively perceived autonomy and perceived relatedness. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Information Technology, Motivation, Psychological Needs, Familiarity, Questionnaires, Adults, Graduate Students, Competence, Self Determination, Personal Autonomy, Computer Mediated Communication, Discussion, Internet, Data Analysis, Sharing Behavior, Behavior Theories, Online Surveys
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A