Knowledge Sharing among University Students Facilitated with a Creative Commons Licensing Mechanism: A Case Study in a Programming Course

Creative Commons (CC) mechanism has been suggested as a potential means to foster a reliable environment for online knowledge sharing activity. This study investigates the role of the CC mechanism in supporting knowledge sharing among a group of university students studying programming from the perspectives of social cognitive and social capital theories. By gathering 40 university students’ feedbacks and their behaviors, this study found that, in terms of trust, sharing self-efficacy and outcome expectations, the students had a more positive perception of the CC-integrated platform than that of conventional online sharing. In addition, the students were more likely to favor the CC-integrated sharing platform in which they believed that individual identification and profit were more effectively sustained and protected in the process of knowledge sharing. The students’ activities on these platforms and their perception of knowledge sharing also revealed relationships that differed from those found in their performance of programming tasks on other online sharing platforms. This study suggests that the employment of the CC mechanism could be helpful in promoting a more positive perception of and willingness to engage in knowledge sharing, thus ensuring the effectiveness of peer communication and collaboration in stimulating programming performance within the Internet-based collaborative context.