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Applying social exchange theory in IT service relationships: exploring roles of exchange characteristics in knowledge sharing

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Abstract

Extending the social exchange theory which emphasizes trust and dependence as important in building and maintaining relationships, exchange specific characteristics (relationship investments and benefits) are additionally posited here as critical antecedents in knowledge sharing relationship among IT service team members, along with partner characteristics (expertise and value similarity) and interaction (communication frequency). An instrument was constructed and administered against client side project leaders in three different IT service firms. Analyses of 126 data points revealed that relationship benefit, investments, and expertise are strongly associated with dependence while relationship investment, expertise and value similarity are strongly associated with trust in IT service relationship. Findings confirm that the exchange characteristics suggested by the social exchange theory plays important roles in building and maintaining dependence in IT service relationships and, in turn, towards building trust for knowledge sharing, but only indirectly via dependence. Also, paths from dependence to trust and knowledge sharing are confirmed as suggested by previous studies. Results implies that the benefits and investments for and in IT service relationship needs to be cultivated, exposed and emphasized in order to increase the necessary knowledge sharing levels. Limitations of the study are discussed with suggestions for further studies into social exchange characteristics in the conclusion.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2012S1A3A2033474).

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Correspondence to Jungwoo Lee.

Appendix: Measurement items

Appendix: Measurement items

Expertise—Spake and Megehee [68]

  1. 1.

    My partner has specialized knowledge.

  2. 2.

    My partner has extensive, broad knowledge.

  3. 3.

    My partner is experienced in solving problems like mine.

  4. 4.

    My partner contributes expertise and experience in executing the IS Project.

Relationship benefits—Sweeney and Webb [49] and Reynolds and Beatty [85]

  1. 1.

    I value very highly of the convenience my partner provides to me.

  2. 2.

    I value very highly of the time-saving my partner provides to me.

  3. 3.

    I benefit from advices my partner gives to me.

  4. 4.

    I make better decisions because of my partner.

  5. 5.

    I enjoy spending time with my partner.

  6. 6.

    I have more than just a formal business relationship with my partner.

Relationship Investment—Kristof De et al. [86]

  1. 1.

    My partner makes efforts to increase my loyalty.

  2. 2.

    My partner makes various efforts to improve the tie with me.

  3. 3.

    My partner really cares about relating with me.

Similarity of project value—Nicholson et al. [73]

  1. 1.

    My partner and I share the same basic project values.

  2. 2.

    My partner and I agree about how to manage the projects.

  3. 3.

    My partner and I think alike about how to manage the projects.

  4. 4.

    I think that my perception of project value is similar to that of my partner’s.

Communication frequency—Massey and Kyriazis [93]

  1. 1.

    Electronic mail

  2. 2.

    Scheduled one-to-one meetings (face-to-face)

  3. 3.

    Informal face-to-face conversations in a non-work setting (e.g. after-work drinks, barbeques)

Trust—Park et al. [94]

  1. 1.

    My partner is open and honest when problems occur.

  2. 2.

    My partner helps me make critical decisions.

  3. 3.

    My partner is always willing to provide assistance.

  4. 4.

    My partner is always sincere.

  5. 5.

    My partner would be trusted completely.

Dependence—Yilmaz et al. [32]

  1. 1.

    My partner is important to our IS Project.

  2. 2.

    My partner is crucial to our overall IS performance.

  3. 3.

    It would be costly to lose my partner.

Knowledge Sharing—Bock et al. [28]

  1. 1.

    We share the minutes of meetings or discussion records in an effective way.

  2. 2.

    We always provide technical documents, including manuals, books, training materials to each other.

  3. 3.

    We share project plans, project status in an effective way.

  4. 4.

    We always provide know-where or know-whom information to each other in an effective way.

  5. 5.

    We try to share expertise from education or training in an effective way.

  6. 6.

    We always share experience or know-how from work in a responsive and effective way.

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Park, JG., Lee, H. & Lee, J. Applying social exchange theory in IT service relationships: exploring roles of exchange characteristics in knowledge sharing. Inf Technol Manag 16, 193–206 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10799-015-0220-x

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