Exploring the connection between knowledge sharing behavior and social network sites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Rodrigues Gonçalves ◽  
Carla Curado ◽  
Andrea Balle

Abstract Background Knowledge sharing is a complex psychosocial phenomenon related to organizational performance and innovation. While considered knowledge intensive environments, healthcare organizations rely heavily on knowledge as a resource. However, effective knowledge management policies and research in healthcare organizations is still scarce, being of extreme shortage in specific environments, such as healthcare research centers. This study addresses this gap by using the Theory of Reasoned Action to investigate the impact of psychosocial factors as antecedents of knowledge sharing between healthcare research peers in such environments.Methods We follow a mixed-methods design using a sample of 150 healthcare researchers to study the relation between perceptions of social network, shared goals, social trust, and knowledge sharing. A quantitative approach uses a structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the links in an original model and the mediation effect of the intention to share knowledge on knowledge sharing behavior. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies alternative configurations that lead knowledge sharing intention and its absence as well as the knowledge sharing behavior and its absence considering additional sample characteristics. Results Findings show evidence of the proposed antecedents of the effect on knowledge sharing, namely social network and social trust (p<0.001). Shared Goals, while addressed in the literature, seem to be unrelated to knowledge sharing intention and behavioral output in research centers. While knowledge sharing intention is directly related to knowledge sharing behavior, additional configurations of causal conditions that lead to the presence or absence of the intention and knowledge sharing behavior are discussed, with emphasis on both psychosocial antecedent configuration and sample characteristics to enlarge potential theoretical and practical outcomes. Conclusions This study identifies the influence of both psychosocial and team characteristic aspects leading to knowledge sharing behavior between healthcare researchers. The importance of a rich social network lying on trust is vital for a sharing environment inside research environments. Given the complex nature of behavioral intentionality, additional findings allow an articulation between individual characteristics based on gender, age, experience and seniority and the psychosocial antecedents – therefore substantiating the proposition of complex configurations between antecedents that hints for team configuration strategies and managerial practices in healthcare research teams.


2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-236
Author(s):  
Li-Fen Liao

Sharing knowledge and firm innovation are the crucial ways to sustain competitive advantage. This study builds a nested model to test the relationship between learning organization, knowledge-sharing behavior, and firm innovation. Data gathered from 254 employees were used to examine the relationship of the learning organization to employees' knowledge-sharing behavior and firm innovation. The results indicate that open-mindedness, shared vision and trust have positive effects on both knowledge-sharing behavior and firm innovation. While commitment to learning does not shows significant relationship on knowledge-sharing behavior and firm innovation. Communication has significance on firm innovation but not significance on knowledge-sharing behavior.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natàlia Cugueró-Escofet ◽  
Pilar Ficapal-Cusí ◽  
Joan Torrent-Sellens

Knowledge sharing (KS) behavior is one of the main drivers to generate social sustainability. It predicts high organizational performance and innovation capabilities, and creates enjoyment and happiness in helping others. Even if incentives to enhance KS behaviors exist, employees would still be reluctant to share knowledge. For this reason, we test a comprehensive model of sustainable human resource management with the inclusion of KS to explain how to enhance collaborative practices in terms of voluntary knowledge sharing. In a comprehensive model, we incorporate organizational justice, employee perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment, and how they relate in order to generate knowledge sharing behavior. Using a sample of 1350 employees working for multinational firms operating in Spain, the present research obtains two main results. First, organizational justice, employee perceived organizational support and affective organizational commitment are positively related with KS. Second, employee perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment play a mediating role between organizational justice and KS, which reinforces the positive relationship between both constructs. Consequently, employees would be more willing to cooperate and share in fair organizational contexts, especially when they are satisfied and affectively committed, and when their contributions are valued and recognized. Finally, we discuss human resource management’s (HRM) practical interventions and recommendations for future research on sustainable organizations.


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