Research Of The Mechanism Of Interorganizational Knowledge Sharing In The Cloud Environment

With the rapid development of the knowledge economy and IT (e.g. cloud computing), the market environment the enterprises must face has more complex and varied features such as coexistence of coopetition and competition, shorter business cycle, increased technology integration and longer production chain etc. On the one hand, knowledge has become the most important resource and capital as well as the source of the organization’s core competitiveness. Because of the restriction factors of organizations such as their knowledge structure, business focus and organizational boundarie, it is not optimal development path for organizations to achieve the innovation of their knowledge, products and services releying entirely on their own strength. Knowledge sharing and exchange between organizations has become one of the important means for organizations to avoid risks and seize the opportunity in the knowledge economy environment. On the other hand, the popularization and application of cloud computing has brought the fundamental changes to the IT services’ generation, development, deployment, scale, updation, maintenance and investment. The information systems based on cloud computing have also influenced the enterprises’ organization form, the coopetition relationship, business operations, and collaborative innovation comprehensively. So in the current economic and technological environment, it will be of high social value to study inter-organizational knowledge sharing. The paper studied the cloud influencing factors, comprehensive influencing factors, decision- making mechanism, dynamic characteristics and causal relationship of the inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the cloud computing environment through the methods of literature research, mathematical modeling, field interviews and questionnaire survey, statistical analysis, and dynamics simulation etc. The main research findings include the followings:(1). Analysis Framework of the cloud environment’s impact on the inter-organizational knowledge sharing.With the widespread use of cloud computing, the cloud computing technology and application has already applied in the field of inter-organizational knowledge sharing, and had a profound impact on the inter-organizational knowledge sharing behaviors. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the extensive literature, the paper introduced the concept of cloud capacity and KaaS (Knowledge as a Service), and established an analysis framework from organizational cloud-related internal (organizational cloud capability) and external (KaaS) dimensions. On the one hand, the paper studied the relationship between the organizational cloud capability, organizational IT capability and the inter-rganizational knowledge-sharing based on the analysis framework, and put forward the points that the organizational cloud capacity can facilitate the knowledge sharing through its extension influence on the IT capactity. On the other hand, the paper elaborated the definition and the specific examples of the KaaS, and described the driving force and the main source of the value creation during the process of the KaaS development and the new characteristic of the inter-organizational knowledge sharing network which KaaS participates.(2). Research of the factors affecting inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the cloud environment.Inter-organizational knowledge sharing is a social psychology process. The organization’s attitude affects organization’s intentions, and organization’s intention affects the organization’s behavior ultimately. Based on the planned behavior theory, the paper identified core factors affecting the knowledge sharing, and put forward an analysis model of the factors affecting the inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the cloud environment based on the analysis of cloud influencing factor and the characteristic of the knowledge providers and recievers. In order to verify the validity of the model, the paper developed and distributed the questionnaires on the basis of literature review, and then conducted empirical study using SEM software called smartpls. All the hypotheses were proved except the "HP2:The complexity of the knowledge relate to the Percived Behavior Control of the organization during the knowledge sharing period negatively for the knowledge providers". The study showed that return factor is the driving force for the knowledge providers, and the demand factor is the driving force for the knowledge receivers. It comply with the following characteristics of the market:supply depends on the demand, and the stimulation encourage the supply. Although HP2 was not proved in the study, the factor should not be neglected in that knowledge complexity relate to the cost of the knowledge sharing negatively.(2).Aanalysis of the decision making of the inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the cloud environmentKnowledge sharing is a dynamic procedure rather than a static one. First, the paper put forward the formulas for computing the cloud capacity from the view of the cost expenditure. And then, the paper studied decision-making conditions of the inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the cloud environment. Finally, the paper analyzed decision-making equilibrium in both information symmetry and asymmetry about knowledge quality situations for the both sides of the knowledge sharing. The result of the study is as followings:(a) It can guarantee efficiency of the inter-organizational knowledge sharing by establishing a suitable reward system as well as punitive measure for the knowledge receiver’s free-rider behavior.(b) Credibility assurance of the both sides of the knowledge sharing can facilitate high quality knowledge sharing with rewarding in the case of information asymmetry about the sharing knowledge. (c)In the cloud environment, it can reduce the overall cost in the process of knowledge sharing and facilitate the inter-organizational knowledge sharing by promoting the organizaiton’s cloud capacity for both sides of the knowledge sharing.(4). Modeling and simulating the inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the cloud environment with system dynamics theory.System dynamics can help people study from a systematic point of view. It can help people search and study the related factors in the system, describe the dynamic complexity of the system with the causality and feedback, establish a quantitative model, and solve the complex problems in an incomplete information condition by analyzing the dynamic and causal relationship in the system with the computer simulation methods. With system dynamics theory, the paper established the system dynamics model of the inter-organizational knowledge sharing in the cloud computing environment based on the study of the casual relationship between the sender, receiver and the interactive relationship of both sender and receivers.The simulation result of the model with Vensim revealed the path that the knowledge behavior changes along with the time and identified the key factors affecting the development of the system. The result of the study is as followings:(a) Organizations should pay more attention to the knowledge innovation and maintain the rapid growth of knowledge while they share knowledge with other organizations or get knowledge from other organizations.(b) In order to promote efficiency of the knowledge sharing process,Organizations should strengthen the construction of facilitating mechanism of knowledge sharing; (c) In order to guarantee the stable knowledge sharing relationship,the knowledge receiver should ensure its reward mechanism.