The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on individuals' knowledge sharing behavior

A major challenge in knowledge management involves motivating people to share knowledge with others. The objective of this study is to deepen our understanding of how to influence an individual's tendency to engage in knowledge sharing behavior in a team setting. Specifically, we investigate the effects of intrinsic motivation (altruism) and extrinsic motivation (economic reward, reputation feedback and reciprocity) on knowledge sharing (number of ideas generated, idea usefulness, idea creativity and meeting satisfaction) in a group meeting. Results of our experiment show that a knowledge management system with built-in reputation feedback is crucial to support successful knowledge sharing. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.