CCE Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

College of Computing and Engineering

Advisor

Souren Paul

Committee Member

Amon B. Seagull

Committee Member

Inkyoung Hur

Keywords

homeland security, information systems, knowledge sharing, motivation, technology acceptance model, theory of reasoned action

Abstract

The terrorist events of September 11, 2001, highlighted the inability of federal employees and officials to collaborate and share actionable knowledge-based information with the right people at the right time. However, much of the literature on knowledge sharing provided insight into knowledge sharing in private sector organizations and foreign public-sector organizations, instead of domestic public sectors or the United States federal government. While the importance of knowledge sharing for homeland security has been documented in the literature, there are no established frameworks that evaluate knowledge sharing motive and intentions in this context. The main goal of this research was to understand what motivates employee attitudes and intentions to share knowledge, by empirically assessing a model, testing the impact of the factors of expected rewards, expected contributions, expected associations, trust, and information technology (IT) type and usage on employee attitudes and intentions toward knowledge sharing in homeland security. The technology acceptance model and the theory of reasoned action served as the theoretical framework to understand motivation factors that affect employee attitudes, intentions, and their influence on knowledge sharing behaviors, as well as the technology used in sharing knowledge. Data were collected from employees and affiliates of the United States Department of Homeland Security (N = 271), using a Web-based survey. The effects of expected rewards, expected contributions, expected associations, trust, and IT type usage were studied using regression analyses. The statistical results revealed that expected contributions and expected associations were positively related to attitudes to share knowledge, but expected rewards were not significantly related to attitudes to share knowledge. Results also revealed that attitudes to share knowledge was positively related to intentions to share knowledge, but trust did not significantly moderate this relationship.

Finally, the results revealed that intentions to share knowledge was positively related to knowledge sharing, and IT-type usage positively moderated this relationship. The research model showed significant results to support five of the seven hypotheses proposed and revealed key findings on factors that influence employee attitudes and intentions to share knowledge in homeland security. This research advances prior findings and contributes to knowledge sharing research, practice, and overall literature regarding knowledge sharing, individual behaviors, attitudes, and intentions to share knowledge, technology acceptance, and usage. This contribution to the body of knowledge provides researchers, policymakers, and decision-makers with foundations for improving collaboration through information and knowledge sharing across traditional and nontraditional organizational boundaries.

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