Kunskapsutbyte på Länsförsäkringar Bergslagen - En effekt av belöningssystem?
By understanding which factors that affect individuals´ will to share knowledge with others within an organization, companies can successfully develop a knowledge-based culture by influencing individuals´ attitudes and behaviour concerning knowledge sharing. Several researchers claim that intrinsic motivational factors can consistently facilitate knowledge sharing between individuals within an organization. Other researchers also assert that extrinsic motivational factors, such as reward systems, might affect individuals? motivation to share knowledge. However, extrinsic motivational factors´ impact on knowledge sharing is a relatively unexplored field and more empirical studies are sought after. From this starting point this study is aimed, by conducting a case study of Länsförsäkringar Bergslagen (LF), to explore whether, and if so how, the reward system which applies to the sales force of private insurances at LF affects their motivation to share work-related knowledge with each other. The results of the study show that the reward system does not, in any distinguishable way, affect knowledge sharing between members of the sales force. Instead knowledge sharing, to a great extent, happens automatically due to the fact that the sales force enjoys sharing knowledge with each other. In this way they help each other to achieve their goals which brings about a sense of mutual satisfaction.