Knowledge sharing: an innovative organizational approach to engage volunteers
ISSN: 1450-2194
Article publication date: 10 April 2020
Issue publication date: 20 August 2021
Abstract
Purpose
A profound managerial transformation approach is increasingly designed to unleash the energy and creativity of employees. The purpose of this paper is to observe as the organizations in this sector can use the knowledge sharing to derive maximum efficiency from such crucial volunteers, creating an environment suitable for stimulating the psychological well-being that is the basis of engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study proposes a model to account the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to exchange knowledge related to factors that stimulate volunteer's engagement.
Findings
The results of a survey of 301 volunteers operating in European organizations indicate that influencers of volunteers in a specific domain activated by knowledge sharing can act as sources of creation and can reinforce their identity, sense of belonging and trust in the organization.
Research limitations/implications
Despite results cannot be generalized because of the samples of convenience, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the elements for which nonprofit organizations should activate a knowledge-sharing strategy so that engaged volunteers feel like cocreators of values and therefore act as true competitive assets.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the expansion of engagement studies through framing the motivations of volunteers in knowledge sharing as a process of social interaction that involves knowledge, experience and expertise and which is able to create an environment suitable to feeding the psychological well-being that is the basis of engagement.
Keywords
Citation
Fait, M. and Sakka, G. (2021), "Knowledge sharing: an innovative organizational approach to engage volunteers", EuroMed Journal of Business, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 290-305. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-10-2019-0131
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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