English abstract
Smartphones compose an integral part of modern life. Besides personal use, mobile phones
are being increasingly used in workplaces. Mobile instant messaging (MIM) is a communication
technology that features text messaging services and sharing of images, videos, audio, documents,
and other media. A key feature of MIM is the creation of groups where individuals can
communicate, engage in group discussions, and share knowledge. Knowledge sharing has become
an integral part of the organization. It involves social interaction and occurs when employees seek
knowledge and others respond by contributing knowledge. The phenomenon of sharing
knowledge by MIM applications is common among the employees of the public sector. However,
there is a scarcity of literature that investigated the motivations and the risks of using MIM
applications for knowledge sharing. This study aims to investigate the motivations and the
perceived risks of using MIM applications for knowledge sharing by employees in the public
sector. After reviewing the current literature, a research framework has been proposed based
mainly on People, Process and Technological (PPT) for the motivations, and Confidentiality,
Integrity, and Availability (CIA) for the risks. Then, hypotheses have been developed to assess
the significance of the factors in the research framework. A quantitative research approach has
been followed using the questionnaire instrument to collect data to verify the hypotheses. The
questionnaire was answered by knowledge workers in the public entities in the Sultanate of Oman.
SEM-PLS analysis approach was used to analyse the collected data.
The findings revealed that people, process, and technological motivations had significant
effects on employees' usage of MIM applications for knowledge sharing, whereas no evidence
was found supporting employees' perception of risks in using MIM applications for knowledge
sharing. This study contributes to the body of knowledge management field by shedding light on
the phenomenon of using virtual groups in mobile instant messaging applications to share
knowledge within public sector organizations. Additionally, this study contributes to the scientific
field by investigating both motivations and risks of using these applications for knowledge sharing
in the public sector. Moreover, organizations in the public sector will be better aware of the aspects
driving employees' motivations and the status of their perception of the risks of this phenomenon,
and consequently, the IT and security policies could be updated considering the findings of this
study.
