Hidden motives: Knowledge-sharing problems in supply chain collaboration

Effective knowledge management relies on the premise of organizational members to be willing to contribute what they know. However, it is not unusual to find that employees are not willing to share knowledge with each other, even when such sharing brings substantial benefits. Current literature investigates largely the explicit and implicit motives that inhibit knowledge sharing. However, we often neglect the hidden motives which are socially ascribed in members' collaborative activities. This article identifies four hidden motives that hinder engineers' cross-boundary collaboration and the use of information systems. Our study further investigates how these hidden motives bring about knowledge-sharing dilemmas and unscrupulous behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.