The role of reward in individuals‘ motivation to share knowledge: A case study of two healthcare hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Organisations leverage their knowledge assets through the implementation of knowledge sharing. This process enables the movement of knowledge from the domain of the individual into the domain of the organisation. Since individuals are the primary actors in knowledge sharing activities within the organisation, they also incur the costs that are associated with them. Previous research has investigated how reward outweighs the involved costs, with a view to identifying how individuals can be encouraged to engage in knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is mainly perceived as being driven by intrinsic motivation. However, there is scant research evidence examining the role of motivation in the relationship between reward and knowledge sharing.

This study explores the effect of reward on individuals‘ motivation to share knowledge within the healthcare sector of Saudi Arabia. A multiple-case design was used, as informed by Yin (2003), within the real-life context of two knowledge-based hospitals in the region. A sequential, exploratory mixed-method approach was used for data collection purposes with employees. This comprised a qualitative phase of 30 semi-structured interviews with managers and other employees, followed by a quantitative phase of a survey of 480 employees, who completed and returned questionnaires.

The research findings from the qualitative analysis revealed that managers consider knowledge sharing to be a new concept; hence, it is not adequately implemented. However, knowledge sharing is considered to be important to employees. Motivational factors such as self-development and reciprocal relationships were identified as antecedents of employees‘ knowledge-sharing attitudes. These factors reflect the needs for both knowledge holders and knowledge seekers to engage in knowledge sharing. The quantitative analysis of the survey results revealed that these motivational factors significantly influence employees‘ intentions to share knowledge, and they are also significantly influenced by reward. The research study concludes that reward has a significant role in motivating employees to share knowledge. Therefore, non-financial rewards, such as training and recognition, are important motivational factors in employees‘ willingness to engage in knowledge sharing.