Analysis of knowledge sharing behaviour in construction teams in Hong Kong

Peihua Zhang and Fung Fai Ng

Construction Management and Economics, 2012, vol. 30, issue 7, 557-574

Abstract: Knowledge sharing in construction teams is important for improved project performance and successful project delivery. The purpose of this study is to analyse psychological motivations underlying individual knowledge sharing behaviour in Hong Kong construction teams using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). A questionnaire survey was conducted among professionals from 172 construction companies in Hong Kong. A total of 231 usable questionnaires were collected. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to test the research model and hypotheses. The research results indicate that professionals’ knowledge sharing behaviour in construction teams is only significantly predicted by their intention to share knowledge rather than perceived behavioural control over knowledge sharing, implying that knowledge sharing behaviour is largely under the professionals’ volitional control. The research results also indicate that professionals’ knowledge sharing intention is dominantly affected by attitude and perceived behavioural control but weakly influenced by subjective norm, which is different from other groups of professionals in prior studies. Several managerial implications are suggested for construction companies to manage employees’ knowledge sharing behaviour in construction teams. It is one of the first studies to employ social psychological theory to examine knowledge sharing behaviour in the construction context. However, the research model only shows predictive power and lacks explanatory power. Nevertheless, it provides a starting point for future researchers to further explore the salient beliefs underlying attitude and perceived behavioural control so as to explain knowledge sharing behaviour in the construction sector.

Date: 2012
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01446193.2012.669838 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:30:y:2012:i:7:p:557-574

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RCME20

DOI: 10.1080/01446193.2012.669838

Access Statistics for this article

Construction Management and Economics is currently edited by Will Hughes

More articles in Construction Management and Economics from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().