Though there has been worldwide implementation of knowledge management systems within most of the companies in the banking sector, one of the key components of this system, i.e., knowledge sharing, has to be actively promoted by the company. This is due to the simple fact that people are skeptical about their redundancy if they share and institutionalize their acquired knowledge. So, in order to facilitate knowledge sharing and also acceptance and reuse of this shared knowledge, the concerned employees need to be motivated. This paper tests the hypothesis that there is a difference between the different categories of banks and banking sector as a whole with regard to the effectiveness of specific motivational factors. The evidence collected and processed suggests that each of the banking categories has different motivational factor profiles when it comes to knowledge sharing.

Motivation is a set of reasons that prompts one to engage in a particular behavior. The term is generally used for human motivation, but according to various theories, motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being or ideal (Arellano et al., 1998). A higher degree of intrinsic motivation in comparison to extrinsic motivation drives employees to perform better and also helps stem attrition at source.

According to Pintrich and Schunk (1996), motivation provides the basic platform upon which the whole of human cognitive behavior originates, i.e., it essentially leads a person’s activities.

Knowledge Management Journal, Motivational Drivers, Knowledge Sharing, Old Private Sector Banks, New Private Sector Banks, Foreign Banks, Banking Sector of India .