The determinants of customer knowledge sharing behavior: A review study

Abstract

In the current age of dynamic business, knowledge became a vital source of competitive advantage. Traditional literature on knowledge management (KM) focused mostly on knowledge sharing within the organization. In this regard, while the general enablers and inhibitors of knowledge sharing behavior have been studied in prior research, the factors that encourage or hinder customers to share their knowledge have not received enough attention in the field of knowledge management. This study thus reviewed previous literature in the context of customer knowledge management to examine the most cited factors that influence customer knowledge sharing (CKS). The relevant articles were analyzed and screened to identify the factors of customer knowledge sharing behavior. Based on the findings, CKS behavior determinants could be classified into three main categories: personal, social, and technological. Among the personal determinants, the most cited factors are the reciprocal benefit, enjoyment of helping others, and knowledge sharing self-efficacy. On the other hand, sense of belonging shared goal/language and interpersonal trust is the most cited social determinants. Meanwhile, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are the most cited technological determinants of CKS behavior. The previous research focused more on personal and psychological factors, and as such, more research is needed to examine other motivation factors that might influence CKS behavior, particularly the technological factors. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.