thesis_Daniela Noethen_print final - Jacobs University

Multilevel Investigation of Antecedents of Knowledge Sharing and Seeking in Teams
2.6.4. Differentiation between knowledge seeking and knowledge sharing
Furthermore, the results have clearly shown that sharing and seeking knowledge are two
distinct behaviors that are influenced differently by certain predictors. First of all, the
coefficient for the correlation between knowledge sharing and knowledge seeking in the
present study (zero-order correlation r = 0.27, r = 0.25 according to HLM) is comparable to
results of previous research (e.g., Watson & Hewett, 2006; r = 0.20). Coefficients from both
these studies demonstrate that knowledge sharing and knowledge seeking are related, yet
distinct constructs. Second, results from contrast analyses have demonstrated that the effects
of all predictors (with the exception of intrinsic motivation) on knowledge sharing differ from
the effects on knowledge seeking, at the individual as well as at the team level. Thus, the
results clearly have shown the importance of the proposed distinction between knowledge
sharing and seeking.
When researchers only focus on knowledge sharing, they neglect influences that are
beneficial for knowledge seeking and are necessary for knowledge transfer as a whole. The
same is true when the focus lies solely on knowledge seeking. Likewise, looking at
knowledge transfer without separating the different transfer behaviors can also lead to the
neglect of important influences, or to inconclusive results as in the case of extrinsic benefits
or job autonomy. To explain why and when knowledge transfer takes place, researchers have
to demonstrate what influences the transfer behaviors that form knowledge transfer. Only
when it is clear what exactly affects these separate behaviors, knowledge transfer can be
studied as a whole, and the different behaviors’ interactions that lead to successful knowledge
transfer can be examined.
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