Determinants of Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Public Sector Organizations: The case of Addis Ababa City Administration Bureaus

Abstract

The study examined the determinants of knowledge-sharing behavior of employees in Addis Ababa City Administration Bureaus. The study was based on three main theories of knowledge sharing behavior: social capital, social cognition, and social exchange theories. A sample 400 employees from five selected bureaus were taken as a sample through rule of thumb to collect the primary data through self-administered questionnaire. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed that trust; organizational support, information technology, perceived reciprocal benefit and extrovert personalities were the main determinants which had statistically significant positive effect on employees’ knowledge sharing behavior. However, introvert personalities had a statistically significant negative effect on knowledge sharing behavior, but perceived reputation enhancement had insignificant influence on employees’ knowledge sharing behavior. The study concluded that except reputation enhancement all of the determinants had a statistically significant influence on knowledge sharing behavior of employees. It also concluded that organizational support has high effect size followed by information technology as compared to other determinants. The study offered empirical evidence on knowledge sharing determinants and how they affect employees' knowledge sharing behavior. It empirically supports the need for developing organizational cultures that enhance trust, organizational support, use of information technology, and employee extrovert personalities.