The Paradox of Spreadsheet Self-Efficacy: Social Incentives for Informal Knowledge Sharing in End-User Programming

TL;DR

This study investigates how personal confidence, social incentives, and effort influence spreadsheet knowledge sharing among end-user programmers, revealing key factors that promote or hinder sharing behaviors.

Contribution

It identifies the roles of self-efficacy, social reputation, and effort perception in shaping spreadsheet knowledge sharing intentions, offering insights for better design.

Findings

High self-efficacy and perceived reputational gains increase sharing intention.

Effortful knowledge codification decreases willingness to share.

Users report lower general self-efficacy despite high job-related confidence.

Abstract

Informal Knowledge Sharing (KS) is vital for end-user programmers to gain expertise. To better understand how personal (self-efficacy), social (reputational gains, trust between colleagues), and software-related (codification effort) variables influence spreadsheet KS intention, we conducted a multiple regressions analysis based on survey data from spreadsheet users (n=100) in administrative and finance roles. We found that high levels of spreadsheet self-efficacy and a perception that sharing would result in reputational gains predicted higher KS intention, but individuals who found knowledge codification effortful showed lower KS intention. We also observed that regardless of occupation, users tended to report a lower sense of self-efficacy in their general spreadsheet proficiency, despite also reporting high self-efficacy in spreadsheet use for job-related contexts. Our findings suggest that acknowledging and designing for these social and personal variables can help avoid situations where experienced individuals refrain unnecessarily from sharing, with implications for spreadsheet design.