Abstract

Organizations promote knowledge sharing behaviors among their members to derive value from the knowledge embedded within individuals and in other organizational resources. Individuals’ knowledge sharing behavior, however, is a complex phenomenon, influenced by several factors, which has been examined in the prior research using several theoretical perspectives. In spite of the vast body of research, the phenomenon is not fully understood, given that many interacting, external and intrinsic factors can influence individuals’ motivation and ability to participate in knowledge sharing. Among the possible factors, an important set of factors can be equity or fairness perceptions, which can play a role in individuals’ motivation for knowledge sharing. Perceptions of equity have been found to be a good predictor of organizational citizenship behaviors and, organizational citizenship behaviors are known to positively influence knowledge sharing behaviors. However, in the extant literature, the role of equity perceptions in influencing knowledge sharing behaviors has not been examined. In this study, we examine the role of perceptions of equity on knowledge sharing behavior and develop a model for understanding knowledge sharing behaviors from the equity theory perspective.

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