Knowledge adoption: The influential factors in the process

Abstract

© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015. This research examines factors influencing individual intention to adopt knowledge from others in the workplace. These factors were collected from focus groups and comparative reviews of knowledge contribution and categorized into three types based on the theory of planned behaviour. Self-motivation describes recipient’s internal judgement of benefits and drawbacks in adopting knowledge; environmental motivation manifests external drivers that potentially influence the adoption; and sender-driven motivation represents internal encouragement arising from the user’s perception of the sender’s characteristics or their relationship with a sender. The work indicated that the most significant influences on the decision to adopt knowledge were monetary incentive, career advancement, reputation, perceived job overload and the expertise of the knowledge provider (or knowledge donor). In designing business strategies to foster knowledge sharing, organizations can include encouragement for knowledge adoption in employees’ personal development plans and assess this in performance evaluations. Support from direct supervisors is important in encouraging staff to comfortably and confidently seek knowledge.