We study how organizational knowledge sharing behavior is affected by avatar use during computer-mediated communication (CMC) with an unknown co-worker. Experimental results from two ethnically different samples provide theory-consistent evidence that outgroup discrimination—manifested as refusal to share knowledge—can get magnified in the ‘virtual world’ when avatars are used for self-representation. In supplemental analysis, we use eye-tracking data to provide preliminary evidence for behavioral differences—in terms of gaze fixation—when knowledge sharing requests accompanied by avatar profiles as opposed to photo profiles are processed and further explore how individuals' choice of using avatars vs. photographs for their online profile affects their co-workers' perception. Our study contributes to understanding cooperative organizational behavior in the virtual space. Managing cooperative organizational behavior in the virtual space is becoming increasingly important as digital work further penetrates contemporary work arrangements.

中文翻译：

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化身和组织知识共享


我们研究在与未知同事进行计算机介导的沟通 (CMC) 期间，化身的使用如何影响组织的知识共享行为。来自两个不同种族样本的实验结果提供了与理论一致的证据，表明当使用化身进行自我表达时，外群体歧视（表现为拒绝分享知识）可能会在“虚拟世界”中被放大。在补充分析中，我们使用眼动追踪数据来提供行为差异的初步证据（在凝视固定方面），当处理伴随头像配置文件而不是照片配置文件的知识共享请求时，我们进一步探讨个人如何选择使用头像和他们的在线个人资料照片会影响同事的看法。我们的研究有助于理解虚拟空间中的合作组织行为。随着数字工作进一步渗透到当代工作安排中，管理虚拟空间中的合作组织行为变得越来越重要。