Examining the Relationship between Learning Organization Culture and Knowledge Sharing Intention Emphasizing the Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior among EFL and Non-EFL University Instructors in Iran

IntroductionIt is believed that the primary mission of educational systems is the creation, preservation, integration, dissemination, and application of knowledge. Educational systems engage in different knowledge management activities among which knowledge sharing has been claimed to be the most important one. The knowledge-based view of the organization considers the organization as a knowledge-creating entity (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990) and argues that effective knowledge management is a crucial factor for success in every sector including higher education. It has become a norm to refer to today’s economy as a knowledge-based economy. Knowledge is increasingly becoming “the” resource, rather than “a” resource for wealth generation; ''knowledge is power''. It is widely recognized that knowledge is the critical asset to individual as well as organization to succeed in the increasingly competitive environment (Alavi & Leidner, 1999; Taghvaee Yazdi & Eynali, 2015; Van den Hooff & De Ridder, 2004; Yang, 2007). The present study aimed to examine the relationship between learning organization culture and knowledge sharing intention with emphasis on the mediating role of organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior among EFL and non-EFL university instructors in Iran. It also sought to investigate whether the proposed model of knowledge-sharing intention (KSI) fits the data in the EFL context of Iran.
MethodologyDue to the aim of this study, examining the relationship between learning organization culture and knowledge sharing intention emphasizing the mediating role of organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour among EFL and non-EFL university instructors in Iran, participants were selected from both groups of university instructors and were organized into two groups, each consisting of 100 individuals. A self-reporting questionnaire with 41 items was given to each participant to measure their perceptions of knowledge-sharing intention (KSI) (5 items), organizational commitment (OC), organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and learning organization culture (LOC). All these four instruments were originally developed and validated in the U.S. and in English but for this study the Persian versions of questionnaires were used in order to increase the return rate (Khajavy, Ghonsooly, Hosseini, & Choi, 2016). All the scales were translated by the researcher into Persian and then were back-translated into English by an expert in translation. Back-translation was used to assure the accurate translation of the scales. All the variables were measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 5, indicating strongly disagree and strongly agree, respectively. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM) were applied; at the end, AMOS 16 software was used in order to analyse the data.
DiscussionAs it has already been mentioned, many organizations try to provide conditions in which their staff could learn continuously and share their ideas in order to help accumulate and change a bunch of personal experiences and knowledge into organizational knowledge KSI. A closer analysis of the results proved that EFL instructors held a higher degree of KSI, organizational commitment (OC), and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) compared to those by their counterparts in the non-EFL group. The reason can be attributed to the fact that non-EFL group included instructors of a variety of university fields, holding a vast range of job positions and opportunities. Besides, subcomponents of each questionnaire need more scrutiny to achieve a better understanding of the causes involved. Members of this group especially those involved in engineering fields were mainly busy with out-of-campus jobs. This study contributes to our knowledge in several important ways. First and foremost, it showed that what is considered to be a determining factor in a setting could vary profoundly across different educational centres. Factors considered as predictors were not of the same significance in different settings and for different staff. Based on the findings of this study, some further research issues were raised. First, job conditions determine one’s recognition about what behaviours and relations will flourish and develop in an organization. Therefore, the same study could be applied for different situations and job conditions. Second, the underlying reasons causing these phenomena with respect to subcomponents of each factor can be the focus of further research. Also, the indirect relationships involved in the current or similar studies can be taken into account and the last point is that the findings of studies similar to the current one can be exploited for managerial and administrative purposes both in academic and business settings.
ConclusionThe results showed that LOC was positively and significantly related to OC. Further, it was concluded that OC was positively and significantly related to KSI. It was also found that there was a great positive and significant relationship between OCB and KSI. The results revealed that LOC was positively and significantly related to OC, and OCB. Furthermore, it was concluded that OCB was positively and significantly related to KSI. The results also indicated that there was a significant difference in the scores for KSI in EFL instructors and KSI in non-EFL instructors. There was a significant difference in the scores for OC in EFL instructors and OC in non-EFL instructors. There was a significant difference in the scores for OCB in EFL instructors and OCB in non-EFL instructors. On the other hand, there was not a significant difference in the scores for LOC in EFL instructors and LOC in non-EFL instructors. Based on the results of the study, LOC was a significant positive predictor of OC and KSI. It was also found that OC was a positive predictor of KSI and OCB was a positive predictor of KSI. However, LOC was not a significant predictor of OCB. OC was not a significant predictor of OCB as well.