Individual- and perceived contextual-level antecedents of individual technical information inquiry in organizations

The authors conducted an empirical study in research and development centers and research-oriented commercial companies in Singapore to test a model for understanding individuals' technical information inquiry behavior in organization settings. Individual-level antecedents (learning orientation, risk-taking propensity, and self-efficacy) and perceived contextual-level antecedents (management support, relationship quality, organizational norms favoring technical information inquiry, and accessibility of the information source) were theorized to affect one's evaluation of the potential benefits and costs in making technical information inquiries. The results showed that the perceived norms favoring technical information inquiry affected the willingness of individuals to make technical information inquiries through the mediating variable, expectancy value. In addition, compared with individual-level variables, perceived contextual-level variables explained slightly more variance in the willingness to make technical information inquiries. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.