A Study of Relationship between Knowledge Sharing and Self-efficacy of Researchers Working at Malek Ashtar University of Technology (MUT)

INTRUDUCTION: The research aimed at investigating the relationship between knowledge sharing and self-efficacy (willingness to initiate behavior, willingness to expend effort in completing the behavior, persistence in the face of adversity) among researchers working at Malek Ahstar University of Technology (MUT).
With regard to the objectives, the research is an applied one, its method is descriptive and its type is correlational. The research population comprised all 242 researchers at MUT in 2016. Through stratified random sampling and on the basis of collegiate complex, college or research center, 165 researchers were selected as the study sample for the present study. In order to obtain the required data, 165 questionnaires including a researcher-made demographic questionnaire, another researcher mad 20-item questionnaire based on Dixon’s model, and Scherer and Madox's self-efficacy standard questionnaire were provided and administered among the sample. Eventually, 161 fully completed questionnaires were returned to the researcher. The content validity used for determining the validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficients results were acceptable in indicating the reliability of the questionnaire that amounted to .89 for the knowledge sharing scale and .82 for the self-efficacy questionnaire.
FINDINGS: The result of the research indicates that there is a significant relationship between knowledge sharing and self-efficacy among MUT researchers. The relationship was observable at all levels of knowledge sharing components including serial, near, far, expert and strategic transfer. The most powerful relationship was between serial knowledge sharing and self-efficacy while the lowest relationship was between strategic knowledge sharing and self-efficacy.
Considering the existence of a significant relationship between knowledge sharing and self-efficacy, the MUT management and authorities should promote their attitude to and perspective in on knowledge sharing and more consider the role and effect of individual’s team work interaction in research teams by means of defining joint projects for the individuals concerned.