Daily knowledge sharing at work: the role of daily knowledge sharing expectations, learning goal orientation and task interdependence
article
Knowledge sharing is vital for organizational success. Yet, most research treats it as a static behaviour, overlooking its fluctuations within individuals over time. Drawing on role theory and a cost-benefit framework, we argue that knowledge sharing expectations conveyed by supervisors and co-workers on a given day positively predict employees’ actual knowledge sharing on that day. Furthermore, we propose that learning goal orientation and task interdependence – key between-person characteristics – moderate this within-person relationship. We tested these hypotheses in two preregistered 10-day diary studies among UK employees (Study 1: 557 daily surveys from 101 respondents; Study 2: 401 daily surveys from 88 respondents). The results showed that daily knowledge sharing expectations are positively related to employees’ daily knowledge sharing, with the strongest effect size for co-worker knowledge sharing expectations. While perceived task interdependence did not moderate this day-level relationship, learning goal orientation showed varying moderating effects across studies: At higher levels of learning goal orientation, the positive day-level relationship was stronger in Study 1 but weaker in Study 2. Our study offers novel insights into the short-term nature of knowledge sharing and its boundary conditions, highlighting the importance of both daily knowledge sharing expectations and individual differences in shaping knowledge sharing in organizations.
Topics
TNO Identifier
1005624
Source
European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(1), pp. 298-314.
Pages
298-314