A review of two psychological models in knowledge sharing: current trends and future agenda

A study on the effects of college students' knowledge-sharing behavior on group performance and individual social status

Introduction

Universities, as typical knowledge-based organizations, engage in various knowledge management activities, including knowledge acquisition, storage, application, and innovation. This research focuses on applying organizational knowledge management principles to college student groups in universities, aiming to explore the current state of knowledge-sharing behaviors within these groups and investigate the relationship between group performance, individual social status, and knowledge-sharing behaviors.

Methods

A sample of 497 college students from six universities in China was randomly selected, and an econometric analysis using structural equation modeling was conducted with SPSS21.0 and AMOS21.0 to examine their knowledge-sharing behaviors, individual social status, and group performance.

Results

The findings reveal that individual knowledge-sharing behavior significantly influences the knowledge sharing behavior of others and the recognition received by the sharer. Moreover, the knowledge-sharing behavior of others positively contributes to group performance, while recognition from others enhances the social status of the sharer. Furthermore, the knowledge-sharing behaviors of others mediate the relationship between individual knowledge-sharing behaviors and group performance, while others' recognition of the sharer mediates the relationship between individual knowledge-sharing behaviors and the sharer's social status. This study provides valuable theoretical guidance for organizational knowledge management and the development of college students' learning abilities, establishing a crucial foundation for comprehensive, scientific, and standardized student management.

Conclusion

Overall, this research contributes to understanding the dynamics of knowledge sharing among college students and highlights the importance of incorporating knowledge management principles in educational settings. The findings underscore the positive impact of knowledge sharing on group performance and individual social status, emphasizing the need for effective knowledge sharing practices to enhance student management in higher education institutions.

The association between workplace ostracism and knowledge-sharing behaviors among Chinese university teachers: The chain mediating model of job burnout and job satisfaction

Workplace ostracism is an essential predictor of knowledge-sharing behaviors, but few studies have explored the influence of this mechanism in higher education. According to the conservation of resources theory, this study elucidated the roles of job burnout and job satisfaction as sequential mediators of the link between workplace ostracism and knowledge-sharing behaviors in a sample of 388 university teachers. The results of the study were analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM). Higher knowledge-sharing behaviors were associated with lower workplace ostracism, lower job burnout, and more job satisfaction. Furthermore, increased workplace ostracism was associated with more job burnout, but job satisfaction was not related to workplace ostracism. The relationship between workplace ostracism and knowledge-sharing behaviors was mediated by job burnout and was sequentially mediated by job burnout and job satisfaction. These findings help to clarify the mechanisms underlying the association between workplace ostracism and knowledge-sharing behaviors in university teachers. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Gellatly I, A. Richards D, Arazy O. Knowledge sharing processes and the role of attachment patterns

Purpose

Past research on the motivational processes underpinning knowledge sharing has assumed that the sharing processes are similar for all individuals. Yet, sharing is a fundamental affiliative behavior, and the sharing processes can differ between people. This study aims to propose and test a model of the moderating influence that employee attachment patterns have on the theory of reasoned action (TRA)-defined knowledge sharing processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors administered a questionnaire to 1,103 employees from a range of industries who participated in an online Qualtrics survey. Advanced forms for structural equation modeling and latent profile analysis were used to assess the proposed model.

Findings

The results revealed that participants in the study exhibited the latent profiles corresponding to secure, dismissive, preoccupied and fearful patterns. The preoccupied cohort had the lowest knowledge sharing behavior, yet the strongest links within the sharing process. Secure, dismissive and fearful had similar sharing levels, but the strength of the TRA-defined processes differed. These findings underscore equifinality: although sharing may be approximately equal across different attachment patterns, the fundamental processes underpinning sharing differ.

Research limitations/implications

The authors used self-report data, given that sharing attitudes, norms and intentions may not be overly amenable to ratings even from well-acquainted others. Further, the use of advanced analytical methods helps to minimize common method concerns. Additionally, causal mechanisms underscoring the TRA have been demonstrated (Ajzen and Fishbein, 2005), allowing us to explore the moderating role of attachment patterns.

Practical implications

This study speaks to the importance of considering employees’ attachment patterns, and developing comprehensive intra-organizational norms, policies and systems that support and encourage knowledge sharing from employees with a variety of attachment patterns.

Originality/value

This study uniquely contributes to knowledge sharing literatures by incorporating attachment patterns as moderators within the TRA-defined sharing processes. The authors provide important insights on the role of individuals’ attachment patterns have for knowledge sharing behaviors, but also highlight how structure of knowledge sharing differed across subgroups of employees, determined based on their dispositional attachment pattern.

Improving Knowledge-Sharing Intentions: A Study in Indonesian Service Industries

Managers of service firms should improve the knowledge-sharing intentions among employees to obtain knowledge stored in them and use it to provide better services to customers. Across types of organizations, especially professional bureaucracies and operating adhocracies, one question is whether service firms can use the same information technology infrastructure strategy to improve workers’ knowledge-sharing intentions. To address this question, 347 respondents working in service industries participated in this study, and focus group discussions were conducted among representatives of those firms to produce better interpretations of statistical results. Findings suggest a weak but significant relationship between information technology infrastructure and knowledge-sharing intentions. While entering a new normal period after the COVID-19 pandemic, effective information technology infrastructures appear to represent a natural and ordinary facility. Despite operating in disparate organization types, managers in both professional bureaucracies and operating adhocracies should build trust and relationships with workers to increase knowledge-sharing intentions.

The Implication of Digital Organisational Culture on Firm Performance

Digital technologies have become a major factor for innovation in the business environment. Organisations have taken advantage of digitised data and information to increase performance. However, there is still little research focusing on the effect of digitalisation on organisational culture, which in the end will affect performance. We develop this research by exploring a proposed model involving digital organisational culture with the final goal to enhance organisational performance. The research involved 263 managers of state-owned companies in Indonesia. We analysed the theoretical model by using structural equation modelling and processed the data using the SmartPLS version 3 software. We conclude that digital organisational culture can become an essential factor in improving digital strategy and performance. However, business digitalisation does not really affect digital organisational values.

Investigating the moderating effect of humble leadership behaviour on motivational factors and knowledge-sharing intentions: evidence from Jordanian public organisations

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the moderating effect of humble leadership on the relationship between different intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors and employee’s knowledge-sharing intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Responses of 236 employees in public organisations in the country of Jordan were collected via the completion of an online survey. The study data was analysed using structural equation modelling.

Findings

This study found that humble leadership support positively moderated the effect of intrinsic motivational factors (i.e. self-efficacy and enjoyment) on KS intention, while such leadership does not moderate the relationship between extrinsic motivational factors (i.e. rewards and reciprocity) and KS intention.

Originality/value

This study increases the understating of the conditions under which employees’ knowledge-share by exploring the moderating effect of humble leadership behaviour on motivational factors and KS intention in public organisations, particularly in the context of a developing country.