Cold start and hot feedback: a knowledge sharing and governance model considering individual willingness from a prospect theory perspective

Purpose This study aims to address the issue of perfunctory sharing that arises in knowledge governance due to a lack of willingness to share knowledge between individuals within the same organization. This knowledge-sharing process does not occur simultaneously for both parties but follows a sequential progression. Additionally, this governance model fully considers the willingness of both parties to share and effectively addresses the two knowledge characteristics that influence their willingness to do so. Design/methodology/approach This study follows inductive logic and primarily adopts an interpretive case study approach to conduct a longitudinal exploratory case study. An incubator enterprise with active knowledge-sharing activities and significant knowledge governance effects is selected as the research subject. The governance system is explained through the lens of prospect theory at the mechanism level. Findings In the study of the knowledge-sharing process, the authors observed a new challenge: perfunctory behavior, whereby individuals engage in knowledge-sharing activities that lack substantial effects as a way to avoid genuine sharing. From this, a new knowledge-sharing model was extracted, the cold start and hot feedback model, which follows a sequential (rather than simultaneous) progression. Using the deterministic effect of prospect theory and the principle of reference dependence, the governance mechanism of corporate knowledge sharing was analyzed from the perspective of knowledge-sharing willingness. Research limitations/implications Based on prospect theory, this study primarily explains how the governance mechanism influences the willingness to share knowledge from the perspective of four principles. In the future, threat rigidity theory and commitment escalation theory can be combined to further analyze the willingness to share knowledge from the perspectives of pressure and cost. Empirical research methods can also be used to test and enrich the research results of this paper. Originality/value After considering the willingness to share knowledge, a new knowledge-sharing model and corresponding knowledge-sharing governance model are proposed, and prospect theory is extended to the knowledge-based theory research field.