scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Author

Vaughn Page

Bio: Vaughn Page is an academic researcher from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The author has contributed to research in topics: Knowledge sharing & Organization development. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 1590 citations.

Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A qualitative study of motivation and barriers to employee participation in virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100, multinational corporation indicates that, when employees view knowledge as a public good belonging to the whole organization, knowledge flows easily.
Abstract: This paper reports the results of a qualitative study of motivation and barriers to employee participation in virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100, multinational corporation. The study indicates that, when employees view knowledge as a public good belonging to the whole organization, knowledge flows easily. However, even when individuals give the highest priority to the interests of the organization and of their community, they tend to shy away from contributing knowledge for a variety of reasons. Specifically, employees hesitate to contribute out of fear of criticism, or of misleading the community members (not being sure that their contributions are important, or completely accurate, or relevant to a specific discussion). To remove the identified barriers, there is a need for developing various types of trust, ranging from the knowledge‐based to the institution‐based trust. Future research directions and implications for KM practitioners are formulated.

1,628 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the results of a qualitative study of success factors and barriers to the development of virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100 multinational corporation.
Abstract: This article reports the results of a qualitative study of success factors and barriers to the development of virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100 multinational corporation. The study identified several prerequisites for successful knowledge management through virtual communities of practice: knowledge sharing as a key element of the corporate culture; employees regarding knowledge as a public good belonging to the whole organization, and not as their individual asset; communities self-organizing around specific performance-related problems or areas of professional interest of their members; and communities supported by volunteer managers and active core groups of experts. At the same time, the study has identified a number of important barriers to virtual community development. Specifically, even when employees give the highest priority to the interests of the organization, they tend to shy away from contributing knowledge for a variety of other reasons not related to information hoarding. In addition, corporate security considerations and concerns about the accuracy of the information and the potential information overload could clash with the need to promote spontaneous generation of information. Suggestions for overcoming the identified barriers, future research directions, and implications for HRD professionals are formulated.

41 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) demonstrates the benefits of using online program assessment, combined with interview data, for continuous quality improvement across all modes of delivery.
Abstract: Through case study, this chapter lends insight to ways online assessment can facilitate a holistic approach to the evaluation of distance education programs. In 2001, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign transitioned from program evaluation methods that relied heavily on data gathering by postal mail to online instruments. While the transition was spurred by the need to evaluate the campus’ first online degree program, online assessment methods are now used to review all off-campus degree programs. Results of this new assessment strategy have proven beneficial for continuous quality improvement across all modes of delivery. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITB11466 INFORMATION SCIENCE PUBLISHING This chapter appears in the book, Online Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation: Emerging Practices edited by David D. Williams, Scott Howell and Mary Hricko. © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Online Program Assessment: A Case Study of the University of Illinois 93 Copyright © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Introduction A holistic approach to program evaluation can be facilitated by online assessment as exemplified by the experience of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The need to assess online graduate-level degree programs led the campus to rethink and revitalize its longstanding approach to evaluation strategies of off-campus degree programs, replacing data gathering by mail with online assessment tools. Initial experience with the revised approach suggested that response rates were significantly higher than the postal-based method and participant response was received more quickly than in the past. In addition, meaningful interaction with stakeholders was more likely to occur, and online assessment enhanced the possibility of using results for continuous program improvement. Online program assessment may be applicable in the evaluation of a variety of off-campus programs (both site-based and online), and has implications for program reviews conducted by accrediting bodies and other entities. Furthermore, once the basic infrastructure to administer online surveys is in place, the method is a more economical way to gather and analyze responses to the assessment instruments. This chapter takes a multiple-case-study approach, drawing most heavily on the first online master’s degree program formally reviewed at UIUC, the Master of Science (MS) in Library and Information Science LEEP option, and comparing and contrasting the evolution of the online assessment instruments to the former approach that relied heavily on instruments sent and returned via postal mail. Although the focus of this chapter is on assessment strategies related to off-campus (including online) degree program assessment, it is important to note that during the period of the evolution from postal to online program-assessment strategies, the campus also developed and implemented an online course-assessment instrument. Used together, these online assessment instruments may provide a powerful vehicle for program evaluation and development. The objectives of this chapter are to share what has been learned and gained through this transformation, the potential for using the generic assessment instruments in other settings, significant issues that emerged and how they were handled, and assessment issues on the horizon. By emphasizing a specific context, this case offers an opportunity for readers to consider the topic in depth and understand the complexities inherent within this authentic situation. The position of this chapter is that online program assessment, combined with interview data, provides an effective approach to evaluation of all offcampus programs (e.g., off-campus site-based, print-based by mail, video, online) because it encourages a holistic approach to program evaluation and lends itself well to continuous quality improvement. The UIUC experience and instruments presented in this chapter offer a model to other institutions interested in incorporating online program assessment.

3 citations


Cited by
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 2006
TL;DR: The study holds that the facets of social capital -- social interaction ties, trust, norm of reciprocity, identification, shared vision and shared language -- will influence individuals' knowledge sharing in virtual communities.
Abstract: The biggest challenge in fostering a virtual community is the supply of knowledge, namely the willingness to snare Knowledge with other members. This paper integrates the Social Cognitive Theory and the Social Capital Theory to construct a model for investigating the motivations behind people's knowledge sharing in virtual communities. The study holds that the facets of social capital -- social interaction ties, trust, norm of reciprocity, identification, shared vision and shared language -- will influence individuals' knowledge sharing in virtual communities. We also argue that outcome expectations -- community-related outcome expectations and personal outcome expectations -- can engender knowledge sharing in virtual communities. Data collected from 310 members of one professional virtual community provide support for the proposed model. The results help in identifying the motivation underlying individuals' knowledge sharing behavior in professional virtual communities. The implications for theory and practice and future research directions are discussed.

2,887 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper examined the influence of individual factors (enjoyment in helping others and knowledge self-efficacy), organizational factors (top management support and organizational rewards) and technology factors (information and communication technology use) on knowledge sharing processes and whether more leads to superior firm innovation capability.
Abstract: Purpose – The study sets out to examine the influence of individual factors (enjoyment in helping others and knowledge self‐efficacy), organizational factors (top management support and organizational rewards) and technology factors (information and communication technology use) on knowledge sharing processes and whether more leads to superior firm innovation capability. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey of 172 employees from 50 large organizations in Taiwan, this study applies the structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the research model. Findings – The results show that two individual factors (enjoyment in helping others and knowledge self‐efficacy) and one of the organizational factors (top management support) significantly influence knowledge‐sharing processes. The results also indicate that employee willingness to both donate and collect knowledge enable the firm to improve innovation capability. Research limitations/implications – Future research can examine how personal traits (such as age, level of education, and working experiences) and organizational characteristics (such as firm size and industry type) may moderate the relationships between knowledge enablers and processes. Practical implications – From a practical perspective, the relationships among knowledge‐sharing enablers, processes, and firm innovation capability may provide a clue regarding how firms can promote knowledge‐sharing culture to sustain their innovation performance. Originality/value – The findings of this study provide a theoretical basis, and simultaneously can be used to analyze relationships among knowledge‐sharing factors, including enablers, processes, and firm innovation capability. From a managerial perspective, this study identified several factors essential to successful knowledge sharing, and discussed the implications of these factors for developing organizational strategies that encourage and foster knowledge sharing.

1,407 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study proposed a social cognitive theory (SCT)-based model that includes knowledge sharing self-efficacy and outcome expectations for personal influences, and multi-dimensional trusts for environmental influences that was evaluated with structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis.
Abstract: There has been a growing interest in examining the factors that support or hinder one's knowledge sharing behavior in the virtual communities. However, still very few studies examined them from both personal and environmental perspectives. In order to explore the knowledge sharing behaviors within the virtual communities of professional societies, this study proposed a social cognitive theory (SCT)-based model that includes knowledge sharing self-efficacy and outcome expectations for personal influences, and multi-dimensional trusts for environmental influences. The proposed research model was then evaluated with structural equation modeling, and confirmatory factor analysis was also applied to test if the empirical data conform to the proposed model.

1,388 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results suggest that commitment to the organization positively influencesknowledge donating, and is in turn positively influenced by CMC use, and a relationship was found that was not hypothesized: knowledge collecting influences knowledge donating in a positive sense.
Abstract: Determining which factors promote or impede the sharing of knowledge within groups and organizations constitutes an important area of research. This paper focuses on three such influences: “organizational commitment,” “organizational communication,” and the use of a specific instrument of communication – computer‐mediated communication (CMC). Two processes of knowledge sharing are distinguished: donating and collecting. A number of hypotheses are presented concerning the influence of commitment, climate and CMC on these processes. These hypotheses were tested in six case studies. The results suggest that commitment to the organization positively influences knowledge donating, and is in turn positively influenced by CMC use. Communication climate is found to be a key variable: a constructive communication climate was found to positively influence knowledge donating, knowledge collecting and affective commitment. Finally, a relationship was found that was not hypothesized: knowledge collecting influences knowledge donating in a positive sense – the more knowledge a person collects, the more he or she is willing to also donate knowledge to others. Based on these results, a number of theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and suggestions for further research are presented.

1,233 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 May 2009
TL;DR: A theoretical model of the incentive effects of penalties, pressures and perceived effectiveness of employee actions that enhances the understanding of employee compliance to information security policies and suggests that security behaviors can be influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.
Abstract: Secure management of information systems is crucially important in information intensive organizations. Although most organizations have long been using security technologies, it is well known that technology tools alone are not sufficient. Thus, the area of end-user security behaviors in organizations has gained an increased attention. In information security observing end-user security behaviors is challenging. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the end users have divergent security views. The inability to monitor employee IT security behaviors and divergent views regarding security policies, in our view, provide a setting where the principal agent paradigm applies. In this paper, we develop and test a theoretical model of the incentive effects of penalties, pressures and perceived effectiveness of employee actions that enhances our understanding of employee compliance to information security policies. Based on 312 employee responses from 77 organizations, we empirically validate and test the model. Our findings suggest that security behaviors can be influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Pressures exerted by subjective norms and peer behaviors influence employee information security behaviors. Intrinsic motivation of employee perceived effectiveness of their actions was also found to play an important role in security policy compliance intentions. In analyzing the penalties, certainty of detection was found to be significant while surprisingly, severity of punishment was found to have a negative effect on security behavior intentions. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice.

767 citations