Beliefs and attitudes affecting intentions to share information in an organizational setting

Information resource management (IRM) asserts that information is a resource that managers should use wisely to improve their organization's operations and to ensure that their company is competitive in today's marketplace. One IRM principle is sharing information in ways that enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Yet, there are many examples where information is not readily shared. Workers' beliefs and attitudes towards sharing information may help explain this shortcoming. In this study, we propose a model that defines the influences on one's intent to share information, based upon the theory of reasoned action (TRA). We then test our model by surveying the workers in a unit of a large governmental organization that often fails to reap the benefits, despite proclamations of support for IRM principles. Our study explored the employees' beliefs and attitudes about sharing organizational information and suggests that the role that attitude plays may be more complicated than first considered. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.