The Impact of Knowledge Sharing and Islamic Work Ethic On Innovation Capability

Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal
The impact of knowledge sharing and Islamic work ethic on innovation capability
Naresh Kumar Raduan Che Rose
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Abbas J. Ali, Abdullah Al-Owaihan, (2008),"Islamic work ethic: a critical review",
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Darwish A. Yousef, (2001),"Islamic work ethic A moderator between organizational commitment
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CCM
19,2
The impact of knowledge sharing

and Islamic work ethic
on innovation capability
142
Naresh Kumar and Raduan Che Rose
Received 1 October 2010

Revised 18 February 2011
Accepted 3 May 2011
Graduate School of Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an in-depth analysis of the knowledge sharing
enablers and the moderating role of Islamic work ethic (IWE) on the relationship between knowledge
sharing and innovation capability in the public sector organizations.
Design/methodology/approach The foundations of knowledge sharing capability, IWE and
innovation capability were assessed using a validated survey instrument. A total of 472
Administrative and Diplomatic Service Officers from the Malaysian public sector organizations
participated in the survey.
Findings The empirical results indicate that the intrinsic motivation to share knowledge is
significant in the public sector organizations. The relationship between knowledge sharing capability
and innovation capability of employees in the public sector organizations was found to be contingent
on IWE.
Research limitations/implications While the study was salient and confined to the Malaysian
public sector organizations, it has considerable implications for the development of an optimistic
workforce in other regions and across sectors. Cross-sectional studies are encouraged to further
confirm the results.
Practical implications An understanding of the pledge of the workforce to knowledge sharing,
IWE and its consequences for innovativeness facilitates public sector organizations in designing and
implementing modernization initiatives.
Originality/value In response to the substantial need to examine IWE and workplace outcomes in
a non-Western environment, the paper embraces the extent to which IWE sways the link between
knowledge sharing and innovation capability in the public sector organizations. Both scholars and
practitioners will find the study valuable.
Keywords Malaysia, Public sector organizations, Employees behaviour, Knowledge sharing,
Knowledge sharing capability, Islamic work ethic, Innovation capability
Paper type Research paper
Cross Cultural Management

Vol. 19 No. 2, 2012
pp. 142-165
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1352-7606
DOI 10.1108/13527601211219847
Introduction
It is relatively hard to come across practitioners and scholars who oppose the view that
innovation is a decisive enabler for organizations to thrive ahead in an epoch of rapid
revolution (Drucker, 1999; Hamel, 2009; Porter, 1998; Shoham and Fieganbaum, 2002;
Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005). The mounting articles, talks, discussions,
conferences, seminars, books and so forth being evidence that innovation is a sphere
receiving heaps of attention at present which lagged among management fraternity in
the earlier years. The public sectors have been reputed to address innovation feebly as
oppose to the business organizations which deem to reside in a highly competitive
environment and need amplified novelty to stay focus and profitable. The bureaucratic
administrative structures and monopoly nature of the public sector organizations
perhaps drive their employees chiefly as an official governmental agent delivering

official state purpose, rather than a service to the customers as in the business
organizations (Bendell et al., 1994). The belief that the implementation of drastic
innovation stratagem in the public sectors is typically more problematic compared to the
business organizations has failed to induce sufficient research in years back.
Nevertheless, in response to an array of political, economic, social and technological
turmoil, many public sector organizations swiftly recognize innovation as an integral
facet for well-organized service deliverance to the nation. The optimum use of
innovation and creativity in every spot of the organizational functions entail pecuniary
boost which aid further nation building. Needless to say, knowledge has been highly
regarded as an impetus for achieving persistent innovation (Ipe, 2003; Nonaka and
Takeuchi, 1995; Wasko and Faraj, 2005). Knowledge can be viewed as a fluid mix of
framed experience, values, contextual information and expert insights that provides a
framework for evaluating and incorporating new experience and information
(Davenport and Prusak, 1998, p. 5).
The recent emergence of innovation shapes a myriad of scholarly work that has
ultimately led to the development and strengthening of knowledge management concept
and theory (Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Stewart, 1997). It has been noted that there
is a dearth of studies pertaining to knowledge management in the public sectors that have
been reported (McAdam and Reid, 2000). Evidently, the public sector organizations
are nurturing knowledge management considering the fact that they breath and grow in a
competitive environment which compel hasty rejoinder to change, akin to business
organizations (Berg et al., 2008; Rainey, 2003; Scarbrough, 2003; Taylor, 2002). Knowledge
management involves discrete but inter-reliant processes of knowledge creation,
knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge transfer and knowledge application
(Alavi and Leidner, 2001). It has been robustly affirmed in the literature that knowledge
sharing is a foremost contributing component of an effective knowledge management
(Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Bhirud et al., 2005; Bock et al., 2005; Chatzoglou and Vraimaki,
2009; Chiu et al., 2006; Chowdhury, 2005; Hsu et al., 2007; Kankanhalli et al., 2005; Nonaka
and Takeuchi, 1995; Wasko and Faraj, 2005). However, fabulous knowledge management
tools and structure alone do not guarantee successful knowledge sharing across the
organization. Consequently, practitioners and researchers tend to focus on knowledge
sharing and various enablers were alleged as definitive to knowledge sharing success.
Despite the growing research initiated to ascertain success factors of knowledge sharing,
most of the available literature, overtly has established that constant research on
knowledge sharing is persistently significant and inspiring for practitioners and
researchers (Chatzoglou and Vraimaki, 2009; Chen et al., 2009; Ling et al., 2009; Paroutis
and Saleh, 2009; Sohail and Daud, 2009). Moreover, there has been a steady call for better
understanding of the factors that silhouette knowledge sharing behaviours in the public
sector organizations (Berg et al., 2008).
The principles and perceptions about work which have been denoted as work ethic,
besides being a diverse scope of understanding, remain critical in convincing individual
decision on knowledge sharing intentions at workplace. Indeed the multidimensional
research on Protestant work ethic (PWE) as advocated by Weber (1958) has been
incessantly relevant and widely deliberated in major research journals at the present
time. The intrinsic worth of hard work that originated from the Western tradition in the
ideology of the PWE is similarly a quality revered in the Islamic civilizations which are
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embedded in the Quran [1], the sayings and practices of the Prophet Mohamed
(PBUH) [2], and the early Islamic leaders. PBUH urged that hard work caused sins to be
absolved and that no one eats better food than that which he eats out of his work (Ali,
1992, p. 507; Ali and Al-Owaihan, 2008, p. 10; Rizk, 2008, p. 249; Yousef, 2001, p. 153), no
earnings are better than that of ones own effort and more specifically swork is a
worship (Ali and Al-Owaihan, 2008, pp. 10-12; Beekun and Badawi, 2005, p. 133;
Beekun, 1997; Ali, 2005).
Despite its magnitude, management and organization studies have devoted minimal
attention to Islamic work ethic (IWE) and its influence on various workplace outcomes
such as organizational innovation (Ali, 2005; Ali and Al-Owaihan, 2008; Kumar and
Rose, 2010; Rizk, 2008; Rokhman, 2010; Yousef, 2000). The dearth of access to literature
on Islam and Eastern business and organization possessions contributes to this
phenomenon. The present study aims to investigate the factors that contribute to
knowledge sharing behaviour and subsequently examine the combined effects of IWE
on innovation capability in the Malaysian public sector organizations. We believe that
Malaysia is an ideal location to perform the study since it is an Islamic country with a
harmonious multicultural society. Scholars are able to intensify their awareness
on the knowledge sharing behaviours, IWE and its consequence for innovativeness in
non-Western public sector organizations. There are high potential for new research
in consequence of this study. The human resource professionals and higher authorities
in the public sector organizations are able to clutch relevant information in their
endeavour towards moulding high performance organization by means of innovative
employees.
Knowledge sharing enablers
Knowledge sharing is a human behaviour which apprehends activities such as
exchanging explicit and/or implicit experiences, embedding ideas and skills that
facilitate knowledge for innovation at workplace. Employees willingness to share
knowledge across the organization is noteworthy (Argote and Ingram, 2000; Cabrera
and Cabrera, 2002; Davenport et al., 1998; Wang et al., 2008) seeing that by and large
knowledge is a resource that is always located in an individual (DeLong and
Fahey, 2000, p. 114). To some extent, information and communication tools are vital,
personalization approach which focuses on direct communication between individuals
and undocumented means of knowledge sharing (Wu and Li, 2007) is deduced to
diminish the tendency of knowledge leakages beyond the boundary of an organization
and perhaps induce the knowledge sharing culture (Argote and Ingram, 2000).
Knowledge sharing is a human activity that is deemed critical to the organization
(Wang et al., 2008; Robertson, 2002), thus to triumph over knowledge hoarding requires
an understanding of the extrinsic and intrinsic antecedents of knowledge sharing
behaviours among people which is lag in empirical research at present (Argote and
Ingram, 2000; Cabrera and Cabrera, 2002; Liao et al., 2007; Lin, 2007a, b).
Individuals are intrinsically motivated to share knowledge if they believe it is
meaningful and interesting to help others solve exigent problems besides their nature of
love and enjoyment in helping others (Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Kankanhalli et al., 2005;
Lin, 2007a, b; Lin et al., 2008; Wasko and Faraj, 2000, 2005). Reciprocity behaviour is
another motivation element that has been reported imperative in facilitating knowledge
sharing (Bock et al., 2005; Hew and Hara, 2007; Ipe, 2003; Kankanhalli et al., 2005; Lin, 2007a;
Lin et al., 2008; Wasko and Faraj, 2005). Reciprocity behaviour entails a sense of communal
indebtedness thus employees are more likely motivated to transfer personal knowledge
if they foresee the extrinsic benefits associated with the information dissemination
(Ryu et al., 2003). Conversely, Lin et al. (2009) affirm that depending on circumstances, direct
reciprocity perhaps leads to pessimistic knowledge sharing behaviour. Thus, it is
interesting to measure the extent public sector employees are demanding reciprocal
benefits in favour of their knowledge sharing intentions. Wasko and Faraj (2000, 2005)
advocate self-imaging that is individuals perceptions that sharing knowledge with others
will lead to higher recognition and subsequently their social status within the organization
raises, as one of the considerable enablers for knowledge sharing. Bock et al. (2005), Donath
(1999) and Constant et al. (1996) also allude a similar thought that enhancement of ones
standing at workplace due to remarkable recognition induces significantly the intention to
share knowledge. In other words, intrinsic motivator is likely to encourage employees to
share knowledge at workplace. Knowledge self-efficacy refers to individuals discernment
of their ability to provide knowledge to others en route for execution a given task at the
designated degree of performance. Individuals who feel confident that their knowledge is
significant for organizational performance have a propensity to discharge their intellectual
propriety to others as well as to be actively involved in acquiring new knowledge for future
sharing and application (Bock and Kim, 2002; Cabrera and Cabrera, 2002; Kankanhalli et al.,
2005; Lu et al., 2006; Wasko and Faraj, 2005; Wang and Noe, 2010). Indeed previous studies
have argued that the value of knowledge perceived by its holder also significantly influence
employees willingness to share knowledge (Ford and Staples, 2006; Lin, 2007a, 2006; Lin
and Lee, 2004; MacNeil, 2003).
Committed employees are those who espouse to the organizational norms and belief
system, demonstrate a strong eagerness to put in effort for the organization and desire to
remain with the organization while maintaining a sense of belongingness. Prior findings
suggest that commitment to the organization make employees more willing to share
knowledge with others (Bock and Kim, 2002; Constant et al., 1996; Hsu, 2008). In the same
way trust and pro-sharing norms are salient determinants of effectiveness of knowledge
sharing activity. Individual trust on others is mainly influenced by the degree of
honesty, fairness, responsibility, dedication, diligence and efficiency. In general,
increased trust between employees improves the chances of knowledge sharing (Adler,
2001; Chow and Chan, 2008; Chowdhury, 2005; Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Porter,
2010; Soliman and Spooner, 2000; Webster et al., 2008). In the public sector organizations,
knowledge sharing involves sharing some degree of governmental confidentiality and
this necessitates the presence of trust culture. It is merely impossible for public sector
employees to share work related information in the absence of mutual honest and sincere
attitude towards work and organization. Hamel (2009, p. 93) emphasized that:
Organizational adaptability, innovation, and employee engagement can only thrive in a
high-trust, low-fear culture. In such an environment, information is widely shared,
contentious opinions are freely expressed, and risk taking is encouraged.
Kankanhalli et al. (2005, p. 117) noted that in a strong generalized trust, people may
trust each other without having much personal knowledge about each other. Previous
studies have examined trust as an antecedent of knowledge sharing and empirically
proved a significant relationship (Ardichvili, 2008; Choi et al., 2008; Kang et al., 2008; Lin,
2007a; Lin et al., 2008). Likewise, pro-sharing norms compel consensuses on true
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knowledge sharing among users. Previous literature suggests that pro-sharing norms
could enhance the knowledge sharing culture and thus encourage individuals to
contribute their knowledge liberally (DeLong and Fahey, 2000; Jarvenpaa and
Staples, 2000; Kulkarni et al., 2006). The public sector organizations apparently exist in a
post-bureaucratic environment whereby pro-sharing norms been expected and alleged
to pilot employees to involve voluntarily in knowledge sharing endeavours. Bartol and
Srivastava (2002) contended that knowledge sharing intentions among employees could
be increased at workplace when it is linked to appropriate reward systems. The
literature persistently reported that both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are deemed to
be functional motivators for employees to share their insight (Abdullah et al., 2009;
Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Kim and Lee, 2006). Several empirical studies revealed
positive relationship between reward systems and knowledge sharing (Ipe, 2003; Kim
and Lee, 2006; Lee and Ahn, 2007; Lin et al., 2008; Choi et al., 2008; Ling et al., 2009),
conversely, there are studies that report insignificant relationship (Abdullah et al., 2009;
Bock and Kim, 2002; Bock et al., 2005; Kwok and Gao, 2005; Lin, 2007a, b). The mix
results in literature encourage the present study to systematically examine the following
individual motivational constructs: enjoyment in helping others, reciprocity, self-image,
knowledge self-efficacy, pro-sharing norms, generalized trust and reward systems in
depicting public sector employees knowledge sharing intentions.
Knowledge sharing, work ethic and innovation capability
Knowledge is indispensable to innovation, thus public sector organizations much alike
business organizations ought to prioritize employees interaction and purposeful
knowledge sharing behaviour across the workplace. Sharing of both explicit and tacit
knowledge surmised to be critical in cultivating fabulous innovation that appreciably
perks up organizational effectiveness (Barachini, 2009; Chang and Lee, 2008; Kim and
Lee, 2006; Liao et al., 2007; Lin and Lee, 2004; Ling et al., 2009; Rivera-Vazquez et al., 2009;
Ling et al., 2009; Saenz et al., 2009; Taminiau et al., 2009; Yeh et al., 2006). There are wide
array of approaches used in developed and emerging economies to deliberate innovation
capability and it espoused a multitude of definitions in the management literature
(Trott, 1998). In this study, innovation capability is understood as the degree of belief
that the public sector organizations produce novel ideas to enhance the provision of
public services or establishment of new products (Lee and Choi, 2003). Given that public
sector organizations performance represents the outcome of collective deeds of
individuals hence human-dependent, the values within which those individuals steer the
organizations innovation direction become instrumental in ensuring continuous and
increased customers and overall employees contentment. Dose (1997, p. 228) regards
work values as evaluative standards relating to work or the work environment by
which individuals discuss what is right or assess the importance of preferences. Porter
(2010, p. 535) maintains a work ethic is the manifestation of personally held values. It is
values that drive an individual to share knowledge and work beyond the interest of the
self transcending into the well-being of the organization and society. It is values as well
that allows for an internalization of knowledge sharing responsibilities among
individuals in the public sector organizations. Wheatley (2005) noted that a myriad of
our aged beliefs and practices not only are inapplicable to the greater world but also
detrimental and distancing us from the skills, knowledge and wisdom that would
be beneficial. If the 1900s represented the century of bureaucratic and mechanistic frame
of mind, the 2000s and beyond are the epochs of innovation and forte for creation which
position knowledge sharing and work ethic at the frontage.
Employees in the public sector organizations have the opportunities to do the best or
the adverse for the community because of the nature and privileges attached to their work
positions and, hence, the needs for eminent work ethics are crucial to maintain the required
provision of public services. The commitment and responsibility towards knowledge
sharing facilitates transfer of implicit and explicit competencies to the workplace
community keen on arresting detrimental work ethics and instead continually update on
best practices. Unfortunately, counterfeit commitment to knowledge sharing cannot
vigorously weaken the nature of knowledge hoarding by employees who perceive
themselves at a disadvantage. Such practice may further hinder agile decision making,
professional standards of behaviour or value enactment and work ethics.
Knowledge sharing is realistic and can be cultivated since it is grounded in major
religions, cultures and ideologies. Rizk (2008, p. 249) noted ethical teachings of most
religions are largely compatible with each other. Ones religious conviction would
adjoin the behaviour towards incessant self-learning, willingness to communicate and
share knowledge without any distortion and devoid of feint. Islam prescribes some
ethical values which silhouette the way of life at individual and societal levels
(Ali, 2010; Beekun and Badawi, 2005; Beekun, 1997). Ethics should be mirrored on
every Muslims deeds in all aspects of life, thus awareness and sharing knowledge of
ethical practices at workplace should be a natural behaviour as it is one of the basic
tenets of Islam and the way one shows his or her gratitude to God (Beekun, 1997), a
sacred duty of the highest order (Rizk, 2008). Some examples of the Quran verses about
faith and work righteousness are: (74:38) Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its
deeds., (4:124) If any do deeds of righteousness, be they male or female and have
faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them., (7:42)
But those who believe and work righteousness, no burden do We place on any soul,
but that which it can bear, they will be Companions of the Garden, therein to dwell
(for ever)., (19:96) On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (Allah)
Most Gracious bestow love., (34:37) It is not your wealth nor your sons, that will
bring you nearer to Us in degree: but only those who believe and work righteousness
these are the ones for whom there is a multiplied Reward for their deeds, while secure
they (reside) in the dwellings on high!, (2:62) Those who believe (in the Quran), and
those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians, any
who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their
reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve., (2:82) But
those who have faith and work righteousness, they are companions of the Garden:
Therein shall they abide (For ever). PBUH maintained actions are recorded according
to intention, and man will be rewarded or punished accordingly (Yousef, 2001, p. 154).
It is important to note that various Quran verses as well as the Hadith emphasized the
importance of knowledge or rather made it obligatory to seek knowledge, teach
knowledge and share knowledge for celestial intents and to drive those who struggle in
the darkness of ignorance, blind or weakening faith and ethical faculty.
The Quran states:
Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created Created man, out of
a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He Who taught
(the use of) the pen, Taught man that which he knew not (96:1-5).
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By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), Verily Man is in loss, Except such as have Faith,
and do righteous deeds, and ( join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience
and Constancy (103: 1-3).
And those to whom knowledge has come see that the (Revelation) sent down to thee from thy
Lord that is the Truth, and that it guides to the Path of the Exalted (in might), Worthy of all
praise (34: 6).
PBUH reinforced by stating that Learned people, knowledge, and work are blessed.
When those who have knowledge do not act upon it, they are not blessed; but work and
knowledge are always blessed (cited in Ali, 2010, p. 704). This indicates how
comprehensive the notions of knowledge sharing are from the perspective of Islam.
Knowledge sharing provides constant opportunities for mankind to draw attention to
each others work negligence or collapse in work ethic, and promotes the return to the
Quran and Hadith to resurrect the truth and righteousness in executing professional
duties. The Quran declares (25:70), Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous
deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Being as Gods trustees or vicegerents on earth, Muslims are urged to pursue
knowledge from cradle to grave. The Quran states (39:9), Is one who worships devoutly
during the hour of the night prostrating himself or standing (in adoration), who takes
heed of the Hereafter, and who places his hope in the Mercy of his Lord (like one who
does not)? Say: Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those
who are endued with understanding that receive admonition. and (58:11) O ye who
believe! When ye are told to make room in the assemblies, (spread out and) make room:
(ample) room will Allah provide for you. And when ye are told to rise up, rise up Allah
will rise up, to (suitable) ranks (and degrees), those of you who believe and who have
been granted (mystic) Knowledge. And Allah is well-acquainted with all ye do. This
emphasis on knowledge pursuit is also clear in the Quran (35:28), And so amongst men
and crawling creatures and cattle, are they of various colours. Those truly fear Allah,
among His Servants, who have knowledge: for Allah is Exalted in Might,
Oft-Forgiving.
The recent literature on IWE clearly reinforces that IWE is based on the Quran, the
sayings and practice of PBUH (Al-Aali, 2008; Ali, 1992, p. 507, 2005; Ali and
Al-Owaihan, 2008; Abu-Saad, 2003, p. 40; Kumar and Rose, 2010, p. 81; Mohamed et al.,
2010, p. 13; Khalil and Abu-Saad, 2009, p. 334; Rizk, 2008, p. 247; Rokhman, 2010, p. 22;
Shamsudin et al., 2010, p. 110; Yousef, 2000, p. 283; Yousef, 2001, p. 153). Some of the
sayings of PBUH which are relevant to the principles of the IWE, summarized by Ali
(2005, pp. 53-5), Ali and Al-Owaihan (2008, pp. 11-12) and Ali and Al-Kazemi (2007, p. 95):
The best work is the one that results in benefit.
The best of people are those who benefit others.
God blesses a person who perfects his craft (does the job right).
God loves a person who learns precisely how to perform his work and does it right.
There is nothing worse than avariciousness.
The generous person is closest to God, heaven, people and far from hell.
He who removes a distress, God blesses in this world and the hereafter.
God does not look at your matters [shapes or forms] and wealth, rather God examines your
intentions and actions.
IWE affixes greatest weight to all forms of productive work and life without work has
no meaning and engagement in economic activities is an obligation (Yousef, 2000,
p. 284). Knowledge sharing is espoused in IWE and indeed the Quran has in various
verses revealed the substance of knowledge for work, behaviour and human evolution.
Ali (2005) highlights Islamic values such as equality, accountability, consultation,
goodness, kindness, trust, honouring promises (commitment), sincerity, justice,
hardwork, humility, universalism, consensus, self-discipline, persistence and
cooperation are duly germane to attain excellence and success for work and human
conducts which been enumerated in Quran and PBUHs sayings and practices (Khalil
and Abu-Saad, 2009, p. 335; Yousef, 2001, p. 153; Beekun, 1997; Beekun and Badawi,
2005). The IWE stresses that it is individuals duty to work hard and smart to upload
creative and innovative works which ends as a source of happiness and
accomplishment. The IWE is also oriented more toward life fulfillment than life
denial and holds business motives in the highest regard as fervour for the life in the
Hereafter (Ali, 1992, 2005; Beekun and Badawi, 2005; Rizk, 2008; Yousef, 2001).
Ali and Al-Owaihan (2008) reported that managers working in the public sector
scored higher on IWE than those working in the private sector. Similarly, Yousef (2001)
reported in his findings that employees working in government organizations showed
stronger support of the IWE. Most recently, Mohamed et al. (2010) found that IWE
within a university environment is significantly related to individuals attitudes towards
computer use ethics, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Kumar and Rose
(2010) examined the influence of IWE on innovation capability in the Malaysian public
sector and reported positive relationship between the constructs. Khalil and Abu-Saad
(2009) found a strong and highly significant correlation between the IWE and
individualism scales. Uygur (2009) studied IWE in the context of Turkish small and
medium-sized enterprises. However, he found that it was not a significant factor in the
emergence of devout business people in Turkey. Jalil et al. (2010, p. 152) argued that
organizational ethical practice can be maintained if IWE is well concerned among
employees. The initial research by Ali (1988, 1992) and subsequent studies (Abu-Saad,
2003; Ali and Al-Kazemi, 2007; Yousef, 2000) on the relationship between IWE and
workplace attitudes confirm the call for and significance of research on IWE (Mellahi
and Budhwar, 2010). Like studies of knowledge sharing and innovation, research on
work ethic has flourished in the Western literature. Thus, there is a substantial need to
examine the join effects of knowledge sharing and IWE on innovation capability in
Eastern setting, specifically in Malaysia, which is moving towards greater assimilation
of Islamic values (Beekun and Badawi, 2005, p. 132) and making effort to inculcate the
practice of Islam in business and government dealings (Ali, 2010, p. 696).
The public sector organizations in Malaysia have undergone a fabulous
intensification and success over the years after independence from the British which
had colonized the country for almost two centuries. Islam is declared as the official
religion of Malaysia while liberty is granted for other religions and belief systems
as such Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity and Confucianism. Being an
Islamic state, the government of Malaysia rapidly endeavour to infuse Islamic values
and implement the approach of Islam throughout the public sector organizations. The
IWE is analogous to the concept of Islam Hadhari (Islamic civilization) was instigated
by former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004. It
emphasizes civility, consistent with the tenets of Islam with a focus on enhancing the
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quality of life through the mastery of knowledge and the development (physical and
spiritual) of the individual and the nation as a whole. Indeed, Islamic values, being
proliferative, are alleged to be universally valid and therefore it is germane to the
minority of non-Muslim employees in the public sector organizations (Badawi, 2005).
To recapitulate (Figure 1), the purpose of this study was:
.
to identify the antecedents of knowledge sharing among employees of public
sector organizations in Malaysia;
.
to identify the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation
capability among employees of public sector organizations in Malaysia; and
.
to measure the moderating effect of IWE on the relationship between knowledge
sharing and innovation capability among employees of public sector
organizations in Malaysia.
Research method
The primary data was obtained through a survey using self-administered questionnaire.
Items from established instruments were adopted and modified appropriately while
ensuring contextual consistency to suit the objectives of the study. The questionnaire
items are provided in the Appendix. The motivational constructions: enjoyment in
helping others, reciprocity, self-image, knowledge self-efficacy, generalized trust,
pro-sharing norms and organizational reward were adapted from Kankanhalli et al.
(2005). Knowledge sharing capability (KSC) was measured using a three-item scale
adapted from Kim and Lee (2006). The IWE was measured using 17 items developed by
Ali (1992). Innovation capability measure was adapted from the work of Lee and
Choi (2003).
From the analysis, it was identified that the Cronbachs a for all knowledge sharing
enablers and KSC were between 0.81 and 0.86, exceeding the recommended threshold
value of 0.7 (Hair et al., 1998). Previous research has shown a satisfactory level of
internal consistency of the IWE measure, with Cronbachs a ranging from 0.76 to 0.89
(Ali, 1992; Yousef, 2000, 2001; Ali and Al-Kazemi, 2007). The Cronbachs a coefficient
for the current study is 0.89. The innovation capability scale had Cronbachs reliability
coefficient of 0.87, strongly validated by Lee and Choi (2003) and widely used in many
research studies. The current Cronbachs reliability coefficient is 0.94. All the question
items were rated on a five-point Likert-type scale, with 1 representing strongly
disagree and 5 strongly agree. The last part of the questionnaire collected the
Enablers
Process
Personality
Disposition
outcome
Enjoyment in helping others

Reciprocity
Self efficacy
Trust
Figure 1.
Overview of
the relationships of
the study variables
Knowledge sharing
Capability
Innovation Capability
Pro-sharing norms
Self-image
Organizational Reward
Islamic
Work Ethic
demographic information. The choices are classified and respondents are required to
choose the ones that are most applicable to them.
The Administrative and Diplomatic Services officers are selected to participate in
this study since they hold almost all the strategic and important positions in
Malaysian public sector organizations. Convenience sampling was deemed to be a
feasible arrangement acceptable to the responding public sector organizations located
in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. To overcome the problem of
low response rate and accurate mailing list, a drop and pick method was employed.
The liaison officers of various ministries and departments helped in the distribution
and collection of the survey. Of the 1,000 questionnaires distributed, 472 usable
questionnaires were returned. Taking into account the invalid responses, the response
rate for this study was 49 percent. The Statistical Package for Social Science and
Analysis of Moment Structures were used to analyze the collected data.
Knowledge
sharing
and IWE
151
Results
Profile of respondents
Respondents demographic profiles are shown in Table I. Among the 472 respondents,
44 percent were male and 56 percent were female. The majority of the respondents which
encompassed 52 percent were in the age group of 20-29 years, whereas 36 percent of the
respondents were aged between 30 and 39 years. In terms of service tenure, 64 percent of
the respondents have been serving in the public sector for fewer than five years. About
18 percent have been in service between five to ten years and the balance has worked for
more than ten years. This shows that the public sector organizations in Malaysia are
expanding and thus more Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers have been
employed in the last few years to shoulder the increasing responsibilities on provision
of public services. In terms of educational level, 76 percent of the respondents hold a
Bachelors degree and only 23 percent had a Masters qualification. Indeed it is a
Respondents profiles
Classification
Gender
Male
Female
20-29
30-39
40-49
50 and above
Less than 5 years
5-10 years
11-15 years
16-20 years
21 . years
Bachelor
Master
PhD
M41
M44
M48
M52
M54
Age
Year of service
Educational level
Managerial grade
Frequency
Percentage
210
262
247
168
29
28
302
83
38
10
39
356
112
4
268
55
100
34
15
44.0
56.0
52.0
36.0
6.0
6.0
64.0
18.0
8.00
2.00
8.00
75.0
24.0
1.00
57.0
12.0
21.0
7.00
3.00
Table I.
Respondents
demographic profiles
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152
mandate for Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers to attain at least a Bachelor
degree prior to employment in the Malaysian public services. The respondents grades of
service scheme ranges from the lowest grade, M41, to the highest grade, M54. About
57 percent of the respondents were in the public service scheme, M41 and followed by
21 percent in grade M48. There were only 7 and 3 percent of respondents from the higher
grades of M52 and M54, respectively. This justifies the lesser number of positions
available in the higher service scheme of Administrative and Diplomatic officers.
Knowledge sharing enablers

Table II provides means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations for all variables of
the study. Despite high standard deviation counts, the results indicated that the
Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers by and large embrace positive
knowledge sharing position. It is noted that all knowledge sharing enablers except
organizational reward prompt a positive significant relationship with KSC in the public
sector organizations. The organizational reward is not seen as imperative probably
enthusiasm to ones work and expansion of public entities via shared knowledge
espoused by the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers. The
recorded correlations for all variables were less than the suggested level of 0.90,
signifying that the statistics are not affected by a serious co-linearity problem (Hair et al.,
1998). This allow for a multiple regression analysis to discuss further on the strength of
relationships between the variables.
The findings from the ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis appears in
Table III. Pro-sharing norms ( p 0.0001), self-efficacy ( p 0.0001), enjoyment in
helping others ( p 0.0001), and generalized trust ( p 0.004) were revealed to be the
best predictors of KSC, with the best model R 2 0.439. Based on the analysis, it can
be concluded that 43.9 percent of the variance in perceived KSC could be attributed to the
joint effect of these four significant knowledge sharing enablers. On the other hand,
no statistical support was noted between the predictors (reciprocity, self-image and
organizational reward) and KSC. The multiple R for KSC model was (R 0.662). These
demonstrated significant high correlations between the study variables. The significant
F-value provides evidence that the model fit the data. Based on the results, it has been
concluded that there is a linear relationship between the predictors and the KSC. The
tolerance (0.503-0.844) and variance inflation factor (VIF 1.358-1.988) values were
below the commonly accepted threshold value of 10.00 and 1.00, respectively. Thus, it
was concluded that multicollinearity between the predictor variables does not exist.
Table II.
Means, standard
deviations, and
correlation between
variables
1. KSC
2. Enjoyment in helping others
3. Reciprocity
4. Self-image
5. Trust
6. Pro-sharing norms
7. Self-efficacy
8. Organizational reward
SD
4.02
4.48
3.75
3.76
3.77
3.72
4.30
2.87
0.77
0.63
0.73
0.73
0.65
0.69
0.74
0.82
Notes: Significant at: *p , 0.01; n 472
0.41 *
0.20 *
0.36 *
0.26 *
0.61 *
0.50 *
0.34 *
0.56 *
0.40 *
0.52 *
0.35 *
0.01 2 0.06
0.21 *
0.19 *
0.18 *
0.16 *
0.38 *
0.60 *
0.38 *
0.18 *
0.52 * 0.51 *
0.25 20.08 20.02 0.04 0.24
Relationship between KSC, IWE and innovation capability

Table IV contains the descriptive statistics and intercorrelation matrix of research
variables. The bivariate correlation coefficients between the independent variable (KSC),
the moderating variable (IWE), and the dependent variable (innovation capability) were
less than the suggested level of 0.90, signifying that the statistics are not affected by a
serious co-linearity problem (Hair et al., 1998). These correlations also present evidence
of validity and reliability for measurement scales employed in this study. Table IV
shows that KSC positively and significantly correlated with IWE (r 0.428, p , 0.01)
and innovation capability (r 0.396, p , 0.01). Besides, IWE positively and
significantly correlated with innovation capability (r 0.382, p , 0.01). These results
demonstrate that IWE and KSC has been important predictors of innovation capability
in the public sector organizations in Malaysia. A series of regression analysis was
further carried out to examine the strength of relationships among the variables. In
particular the moderating role of IWE in explaining the relationship between KSC and
innovation capability among employees in the public sector organizations was tested.
Table V provides regression analyses results for the relationship between KSC and
innovation capability, as moderated by IWE. KSC had significant main effect on
innovation capability and could explain 15.5 percent of the variance in innovation
capability for public sector organizations in this study sample. As exhibited in Table V,
when both KSC and IWE were included, both exhibited significant main effects on
innovation capability and could explain 20.9 percent of the variance in innovation
capability. Nevertheless, IWE raise the total amount of variance explained merely by
5.5 percent when it was included in step 2 of the analysis. Further, as evidenced by the
significant interaction, IWE served as a moderating factor in the relationship between
KSC and innovation capability (b 0.122, p , 0.01). It should be noted from the
Variable
Enjoyment in helping others
Reciprocity
Self-image
Trust
Pro-sharing norms
Self-efficacy
Organizational reward
t-value
0.177
2 0.022
2 0.027
0.137
0.292
0.267
2 0.057
3.604
20.548
20.581
2.920
5.985
5.672
21.515
0.000
0.584
0.561
0.004
0.000
0.000
0.130
0.503
0.736
0.568
0.547
0.508
0.544
0.844
1.988
1.358
1.760
1.828
1.970
1.837
1.185
Mean
SD
4.02
4.04
3.45
0.77
0.50
0.89
0.428 *
0.396 *
0.382 *
Notes: Significant at: *p , 0.01; n 472
153
Collinearity statistics
Tolerance
VIF
Notes: Model statistics: R 0.662, R 0.439, adj. R 0.430, F 51.771, p 0.0001, df 7
1. KSC
2. IWE
3. Innovation capability
Knowledge
sharing
and IWE
Table III.
Model summary for
perceived KSC
Table IV.
Means, standard
deviations, and
correlation coefficients
CCM
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154
Table V.
Hierarchical regression
results with innovation
capability as dependent
variable
Variable
Step 1
KSC
Step 2
KSC
IWE
Step 3
KSC
IWE
KSC X IWE
R2
Adj. R 2
F
R 2 change
F change
Step 1 (b)
Step 2 (b)
Step 3 (b)
0.396 * *
0.285 * *
0.260 * *
0.157
0.155
87.542 * *
0.157
87.542 * *
0.212
0.209
63.197 * *
0.055
32.909 * *
0.308 * *
0.287 * *
0.122 *
0.225
0.220
45.389 * *
0.013
7.910 *
t-value
Collinearity statistics
Tolerance
VIF
9.356
6.281
5.737
0.817
0.817
1.224
1.224
6.724
6.240
2.813
0.791
0.781
0.881
1.264
1.281
1.136
Notes: Significant at: *p , 0.01, * *p , 0.0001; n 472
regression analysis that although the interaction was statistically significant,

corresponding change in R 2 were relatively small (R 2 change 0.013, p , 0.0001).
Discussion
The results indicate that a significant predictor of knowledge sharing is the pro-sharing
norms in the sampled public sector organizations. This result is also consistent with prior
research (DeLong and Fahey, 2000; Jarvenpaa and Staples, 2000; Kulkarni et al., 2006),
providing additional evidence that pro-sharing norms is a strong intrinsic motivator for
vigorous participation in knowledge sharing endeavour. Because knowledge sharing
serves to benefit public sector organizations, sturdy intensity of pro-sharing norms likely to
increase employees motivation to engage in knowledge sharing deeds. The shared-values
that funnel the conduct of the entire Malaysian civil servants, namely, valuing time,
perseverance, pleasure of working, dignity of simplicity, character, kindness, influence of
examples, obligation of duty, wisdom of economy, patience, improvement of talent and joy
of originating (the 12 pillars) appears to significantly help them trust each other.
The sheer trust and conviction among the employees should craft workplace
relationship that warrants trustworthy behaviours. The pro-sharing norms
simultaneously with the associated desire of employees with those of the public
sector organizations probably impinge on the relationship between trust and knowledge
sharing. Existing literature (Ardichvili, 2008; Choi et al., 2008; Lin et al., 2008) has
discussed the incitement effect of trust on knowledge sharing behaviours. The findings
of this study extend the previous literature by revealing that the knowledge sharing
among employees in the public sector organizations could be phenomenal when
generalized trust is well-built.
Knowledge self-efficacy is shown to significantly contribute to knowledge sharing
behaviour. The findings of this study is consistent with previous research which put
forward self-efficacy as an intrinsic motivator for knowledge sharing behaviour
(Bock and Kim, 2002; Cabrera and Cabrera, 2002; Kankanhalli et al., 2005; Lu et al., 2006;
Wasko and Faraj, 2005; Wang and Noe, 2010). The Administrative and Diplomatic
Service officers are the elite corps of generalist administrators who occupy virtually the
key positions in the Malaysian public sector organizations. These officers are generally
very versatile individuals who act as providers of services, facilitators of the nations
economic growth, enforcers of law, protectors of national peace and integration, and
guardians of the future generations wellbeing and prosperity. Since the officers are
recruited and exclusively trained, they should embrace greater confident on their ability
to share knowledge that would be constructive to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring
the execution and success of national policies. The professional communal relationships,
with the need to achieve their common goals, to uphold the integrity, efficiency and
performance in facing the challenges encapsulated in the national development
stratagem paves way to unexpected reciprocation. The results from this study provide
strong evidence that individuals who enjoy in helping others appear significantly
heartened too, to share knowledge, as suggested by prior studies (Lin, 2007a;
Lin et al., 2008; Ardichvili, 2008). The current work situation which to some extent
contributes to positive knowledge sharing traditions among the public sector employees
should be further explored and amplified so as to preserve the sharing tradition.
This study found that organizational rewards did not demonstrate significant
predictive relationship on employees KSC. A feasible explanation for this finding could be
credited to the fact that respondents were at a higher rank in the public sector
organizations. The lower value placed by the respondents on organizational rewards and
the lack of influence of reward on knowledge sharing perhaps support their role as leaders
where knowledge sharing is perceived as professional obligation. Besides, the
Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers in the Malaysian public sector
organizations are custodians of the interests of the government. They tend to stay focus
on other intrinsic benefits compared to extrinsic rewards. The present findings somewhat
advance the mix results of studies on organizational rewards and knowledge sharing
culture, contrasting the results of Choi et al. (2008), Lin et al. (2008) and Ling et al. (2009) but
supporting the findings of some other studies (Bock et al., 2005; Lin, 2007a, b). The results
indicate that neither self-image nor reciprocity benefits are significantly linked to KSC.
This may be due to the positive and significant possessions of pro-sharing norms,
generalized trust and enjoyment in helping others across the public sector organizations in
Malaysia. Previous literature also suggests mix relationships between these variables.
The positive relationship between KSC and innovation capability of employees in the
public sector organizations was found to be contingent on IWE. This demonstrates that
a large number of employees in the Malaysian public sector organizations demonstrate
the Excellent Work Culture efforts of the Malaysian Government introduced more
than two decades ago. The presence of a workplace environment that is viewed to allow
for religious belief and contemporary management thinking appears to benefit the social
order. Following the basic elements of IWE, the respondents of this study collectively
perceived that they are against laziness and time wastage through idling or engaging
oneself in unproductive activity. Islam is a way of life and indeed work ethic is applicable
to every facet of individuals life including organizational administration (Abuznaid,
2009). Islamic values have always been advanced in the Malaysian public sector
administrations. Government servants are to serve Muslims and non-Muslims alike
without discrimination. The Malaysian Government continues to emphasize the
nurturing of Islamic values and building of noble characters to pave ways for the spirit of
Knowledge
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and IWE
155
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excellence in innovation, as an enabler for Malaysia to emerge successfully in the new

economy while preserving its cultural heritage. IWE encourages the pursuit of
knowledge as a way to improve oneself and balance the effort in wealth creation and
attaining spiritual tranquillity. Besides, knowledge sharing and the spirit of discovery
are consistent with the direction of IWE (Ali, 2005; Ali and Al-Owaihan, 2008). The KSC
significantly affect innovation capability under conditions of sturdy IWE has a
far-reaching implication for organizational studies. Perhaps, it is the persuasive
education among Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers on the
importance of work principles in Islam to facilitate the process of innovation that has led
to the current findings. Evidently, beginning 2002, employees of public sector
organizations have to undergo mandatory trainings or courses to boost their work
related competencies while venture into lifelong learning culture. Moreover, the
Malaysia Remunerative System emphasize on work competencies and positive values as
key enabler to improve the performance and efficiency of the government sectors.
Considerable investments in the human resource development hint to the employees that
their knowledge and work competencies are appreciable by the organizational
authorities. This indeed boosts their knowledge sharing behaviour and work culture
which leads to many novel knowledge base product or services. Parallel with
the direction and policy of the government of Malaysia, the need for the employees in the
public sector organizations to embark seriously on knowledge sharing, progressive
work values and implementation of innovative norms are timely.
Conclusion
Results from this study suggest four knowledge sharing antecedents strongly influence
the perceived KSC in the Malaysian public sector organizations. Not surprisingly,
pro-sharing norms contribute much on the relationship. Enjoyment in helping others,
self-efficacy and generalized trust were other significant intrinsic motivation to share
knowledge expressed by the selected respondents. This result implies that a sense of
belongingness and pledge of the Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers
perhaps be a prerequisite to engage in knowledge sharing activities. Explicitly,
employees who believe in their competency to contribute constructive knowledge in
advancing their division or work unit tend to demonstrate stronger motivation to
contribute knowledge to their contemporaries. The norm of recruiting and selecting
officers who observe soaring cognitive propensity and self esteem should be sustained in
the public sector organizations as to establish a progressive generation of leaders.
Besides, sharing genuine knowledge boost the organizational capability to perform
rigorously against the varying work condition through the collective competencies of
individuals insights.
It is also proved that the relationship between KSC and innovation capability is
moderately influenced by IWE. Greater innovation means public sector organizations
will be more resilient in responding to changing environments and arrive to the desired
outcomes. Notably, innovation arms depend heavily on employees KSC which is not a
natural behaviour of many individuals but considerable could be cultivated. IWE is a
key input meant for such value creation process or behaviour to be instilled within
individuals in the public sector organizations.
Limitations and future research

It was anticipated that organizational rewards will induce the pleasure of sharing
knowledge as recorded in the literature, but this study found the reverse condition. Thus,
future study may concern to further explore the specific type of organizational rewards
that probably encourage knowledge sharing in the public sector organizations. The
findings also suggest that reciprocity and self-image not succeed to contribute
significantly to KSC. Perhaps, one may contend that strong pro-sharing norms, trust and
enjoyment in helping others contribute to this condition. Materialism is the precursor
that renders down good values among organizational citizens. The genuine
responsibilities to the stakeholders are tolerable and should be remain in ones mind
to thrive into the next stage of legitimate feat. The position held by respondents in this
survey may tend to diminish the concerned about the image and reciprocity benefits.
Future research is encouraged to explore these variables across many other levels of
employees in the public sector organizations.
It is important to note that there are many other issues contribute equally to
innovation capability. The IWE elements in this study focus merely on the human
capital side of the public sector. But to further enhance the innovation capability in the
public sector organizations, the internal (e.g. organizations vision, strategies, goals,
values, culture and philosophy) and external (stakeholders, public policy and
regulation) structures call for further exploration. The scope of this study is limited to
examining the antecedents of knowledge sharing and the extent to which IWE
moderate the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation capability
among Administrative and Diplomatic Service officers in Malaysia. Although the
study included respondents from diverse divisions, functions, and hierarchical orders;
the findings are deem to be applicable to the public sector organizations or to large
organizations that functions in a similar capacity. Future studies are encouraged to
include all level of employees in variety of public sector service schemes to strengthen
the generalization of the findings.
A notable limitation of the quantitative research is the exclusive use of perceptual
measures. Despite gaining a significant support from psychological research literature,
self-reported measures might not exactly or truly reflect a concrete state of affairs
variables selected in this study. Therefore, future studies should consider using both
objective and perceptual measures of knowledge sharing and specific innovation
capability. This attempt perhaps helps in drawing more robust conclusion on the
moderating effect of IWE on the relationship between knowledge sharing and
innovation capability. It is strongly suggested that cross-national studies using
relatively non-Muslim in large and representative sample are conducted to compare the
strength of the IWE scale in influencing organizational variables across varying public
sectors. This is essential for constant advancement of knowledge in organizational and
management literature, specifically IWE.
Notes
1. The translations of the Quran used in this paper were from: The Holy, Quran:
Text, Translation and Commentary, translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali and published by
Amana publications, Beltsville, MD (1989).
2. PBUH is an abbreviation of peace be upon him.
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(The Appendix follows overleaf.)
Corresponding author
Naresh Kumar can be contacted at: naresh@putra.upm.edu.my
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Knowledge
sharing
and IWE
163
CCM
19,2
164
Appendix
Construct
Item
Source
Enjoyment in
helping others
I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others

I enjoy helping others by sharing my knowledge
It feels good to help someone else by sharing my knowledge
Sharing my knowledge with others gives me pleasure
When I share my knowledge, I believe that I will get an answer for
giving an answer
When I share my knowledge, I expect somebody to respond when I
am in need
When I contribute knowledge, I expect to get back knowledge when I
need it
When I share my knowledge, I believe that my queries for knowledge
will be answered in future
I have confidence in my ability to provide knowledge that others in
my organization consider valuable
I have the expertise needed to provide valuable knowledge for my
organization
It does not really make any difference whether I share my knowledge
with others
Most other employees can provide more valuable knowledge than I
can
I believe that people in my organization give credit for others
knowledge where it is due
I believe that people in my organization do not use unauthorized
knowledge
I believe that people in my organization use others knowledge
appropriately
I believe that people in my organization share the best knowledge
that they have
There is a norm of cooperation in my organization
There is a norm of collaboration in my organization
There is a norm of teamwork in my organization
There is a willingness to value and respond to diversity in my
organization
There is a norm of openness to conflicting views in my organization
There is a norm of tolerance of mistakes in my organization
Sharing my knowledge improves my image within the organization
People in the organization who share their knowledge have more
prestige than those who do not
Sharing my knowledge improves others recognition of me
When I share my knowledge, the people I work with
respect me
When I share my knowledge, my superiors praise me
It is important to get a better work assignment when I share my
knowledge
It is important to be promoted when I share my knowledge
It is important to get a higher salary when I share my knowledge
It is important to get a higher bonus when I share my knowledge
Kankanhalli
et al. (2005)
Reciprocity
Self-efficacy
Trust
Pro-sharing
norms
Self-image
Organizational
reward
Table AI.
Survey items (used with
permission from the
authors)
Kankanhalli
et al. (2005)
Kankanhalli
et al. (2005)
Kankanhalli
et al. (2005)
Kankanhalli
et al. (2005)
Kankanhalli
et al. (2005)
Kankanhalli
et al. (2005)
(continued)
Construct
KSC
IWE
Innovation
capability
Item
It is important to get more job security when I share my knowledge
I voluntarily share my know-how, information, and knowledge with
other employees
I cooperate or communicate with other employees in teams or groups
for sharing information and knowledge
I can freely access documents, information, and knowledge held by
other divisions within the organization
Laziness is a vice
Dedication to work is a virtue
Good work benefits both ones self and others
Justice and generosity in the work place are necessary conditions for
societys welfare
Producing more than enough to meet ones needs contributes to the
prosperity of society as a whole
One should carry work out to the best of ones ability
Work is not an end in itself but a means to foster personal growth
and social relations
Life has no meaning without work
More leisure time is good for society
Human relations should be emphasize and encourage
Work enables man to control nature
Creative work is a source of happiness and accomplishment
Any person who works is more likely to get ahead in life
Work gives one the chance to be independent
A successful person is the one who meets deadlines at work
One should constantly work hard to meet responsibilities
The value of work is delivered from the accompanying intention
rather than its result
My organization has produced many novel and useful ideas
(services/products)
My organization fosters an environment that is conducive to our own
ability to produce novel and useful ideas (services/products)
My organization spends much time in producing novel and useful
ideas
My organization considers producing novel and useful ideas as
being important activities
My organization actively produces novel and useful ideas (services/
products)
Source
Kim and Lee
(2006)
Knowledge
sharing
and IWE
165
Ali (1992)
Lee and Choi

(2003)
Table AI.
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