Knowledge management has undeniably been one of the most studied information system research domains in recent years (Argote, McEvily, & Reagans, 2003). As a multi-disciplinary field, researchers have examined numerous facets of knowledge management using a variety of methodologies and theoretical underpinnings under different contexts (e.g., Bock et al., 2009, Hwang and Kim, 2007 and Vera-Munoz et al., 2006). In the age of digital creativity, knowledge management systems have been shown to increase creativity and innovation in the workplace (Brown and Duguid, 1991 and Leonard-Barton, 1995). Creativity at the workplace enables the transformation of knowledge to generate novel ideas and new knowledge.
The sustainability of knowledge management is especially important in knowledge-intensive firms because they rely on individual employees’ knowledge, expertise, and creativity to generate value and gain a competitive advantage (Alvesson, 2004 and Starbuck, 1992). To foster creativity and encourage innovation, knowledge systems serve as platforms for employees to exchange ideas, share documents, and generate new knowledge in knowledge-intensive firms. Broadly defined, knowledge systems are any types of enabling technology for employees to store, organize, share, and distribute knowledge (e.g., electronic knowledge repositories, knowledge bases, and expert systems).
Much of the existent research on knowledge management focuses on the factors that affect the usage of knowledge management systems in organizations (e.g., Halawi et al., 2007 and Wu and Wang, 2006) and how to facilitate and encourage knowledge sharing among employees (e.g., He and Wei, 2009 and Kankanhalli et al., 2005). Recent emphasis in knowledge management research indicates that it is crucial to not overlook the “individual” aspect of knowledge management (Jones, 2007 and Pauleen, 2009) as organizational knowledge is embedded in the creative minds of the employees. Prior research has found that employees’ individual beliefs and motivations are just as important factors to consider as system capabilities or technical functionalities of knowledge systems (Brazelton and Gorry, 2003 and Ko et al., 2005). This is especially salient in knowledge-intensive firms such as accounting or law firms where individuals’ willingness to use knowledge systems is paramount to the success of such systems.
Given the increasing shift toward the “individual” factor in knowledge management research, this study examines the effects of individuals’ intrinsic benefits on their commitment to knowledge systems. Intrinsic benefits are intangible and psychological feelings employees experience when feeling rewarded or valued. In other words, intrinsic benefits are the internal gratifications individuals feel which may become motivating forces to continue to use knowledge systems. Previous research has examined the influence of intrinsic benefits on knowledge sharing in virtual communities (Hsu et al., 2007 and Wasko and Faraj, 2005) and how intrinsic benefits may motivate employees to share knowledge with one another to generate novel ideas and solutions (Lin, 2007). Intrinsic benefits have also been shown to reduce stress at the workplace and lead to increased job satisfaction (Keaveney & Nelson, 1993). Specifically, we investigate two intrinsic benefits: knowledge self-efficacy and self-worth. Knowledge self-efficacy is individuals’ self-confidence in their ability to provide knowledge and value to the organization (Constant, Sproull, & Kiesler, 1996). Self-worth captures individuals’ self-assessment on how they provide value to their organization through use of knowledge systems and sharing knowledge with others (Ko et al., 2005). Together they form the positive reinforcement individuals experience intrinsically when using knowledge systems at the workplace.
Theoretically grounded in the three-component model of commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1990), this study explores how knowledge self-efficacy and self-worth impact three types of commitment: affective, continuance, and normative. We hope to deepen our understanding of the “personal” aspect of knowledge management by finding out whether intrinsic benefits and feelings matter to users’ commitment toward knowledge systems. Using survey data collected from employees of accounting firms, the results strongly demonstrate that feelings do matter. Both intrinsic benefit factors exhibit significant and positive influence on users’ knowledge system commitment, except for the effects of knowledge self-efficacy on normative commitment and self-worth on continuance commitment. The research findings illustrate that internal fulfillment and intangible rewards are important motivators to building users’ commitment to knowledge systems.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In the next section, we discuss the related literature and present the research model and hypotheses. In subsequent sections, we describe the research method, data analysis, and results. Finally, we conclude the paper with a discussion of the findings, implications, and limitations.
