Turning lurkers into innovation agents: An interactionist perspective of self-determinant theory

Despite the general negative conception about lurkers in online knowledge-sharing practices, there is a growing body of literature that suggests the bright side of lurking behavior, termed as active lurking. Building upon the self-determination theory, this research aims to examine the individual and organizational aspects that may influence individual employee’s motivation to engage in active lurking behaviors. In a study of 200 employees in the banking sector, we demonstrate support for the relationships among perceived importance of knowledge, perceived negative reputation influence, active lurking behavior, knowledge collecting and individual innovative capability in both public and private companies. We also find that organizational culture plays an important role as moderating variable. This research adds to the knowledge sharing literature by showing that the interaction between individual and organizational aspects can turn lurkers into active participants in organizational online knowledge sharing and increase their innovative capability.