Effects of organizational culture, affective commitment and trust on knowledge-sharing tendency
Journal of Knowledge Management
ISSN: 1367-3270
Article publication date: 28 June 2022
Issue publication date: 30 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Prevailing corporate culture coupled with affective trust in co-workers and affective organizational commitment may promote or hinder the tendency for people to share knowledge. This study aims to determine whether knowledge-sharing tendency varies from one form of organizational culture to another by examining the concurrent mediation of affective trust in co-workers and affective organizational commitment and provide insights for appropriate knowledge-sharing initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach
Adult learners (N = 408) enrolled in the MBA and MSc postgraduate programs at five private universities in Singapore participated in a two-part self-administered anonymous survey. Data were analyzed with SmartPLS partial-least squares structural equation modeling using a two-stage analytical technique that examined the measurement and structural models.
Findings
The concurrent effects of affective trust in co-workers and affective organizational commitment complementarily mediated the relationship of organizational culture on the knowledge-sharing tendency for adhocracy, clan and market cultures but fully mediated for hierarchy culture.
Practical implications
This study provides insights for managers to understand the characteristics of their organizational culture and choose appropriate practices for improving knowledge-sharing tendency among its employees.
Originality/value
A model is established to determine the type of organizational culture that facilitates knowledge-sharing tendency. It offers new theoretical insights into how and why affective trust in co-workers and affective organizational commitment impact the relationship of organizational culture on knowledge-sharing tendency. Understanding these relationships can provide valuable insights into various strategies for different organizational cultures to increase employees’ knowledge-sharing tendency.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank all members of Research Syndicate Team at the University of Waikato, particularly John Oetzel, Cécile L’Hermitte and Marlini Bakri, for providing insightful input on the initial manuscript that helped shape the writing of this article. Author is also grateful for the feedback provided by the two anonymous reviewers, whose valuable comments made the article better. Any errors remain of authors.
Citation
Ng, K.Y.N. (2023), "Effects of organizational culture, affective commitment and trust on knowledge-sharing tendency", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 1140-1164. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2022-0191
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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