Leadership, tacit and explicit knowledge sharing in Saudi Arabian non-profit organizations: the mediating role of organizational commitment

Abstract

Purpose

Employees are driven and motivated to exercise knowledge-based resources as a result of leadership. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of authentic leadership on organizational commitment and tacit and explicit knowledge-sharing behaviors in Saudi non-profit organizations (NPOs). The study also aims to explore authentic leadership’s direct and indirect impact on tacit and explicit knowledge-sharing behaviors via organizational commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a quantitative research design by distributing a survey questionnaire among 415 employees. A total of 300 responses were collected during the survey questionnaire data collection.

Findings

The results showed that authentic leadership significantly and positively influenced organizational commitment and tacit and explicit knowledge sharing. Additionally, organizational commitment significantly and positively mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and tacit knowledge sharing, and there was partial mediation. However, organizational commitment failed to mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and explicit knowledge sharing.

Practical implications

The management of Saudi NPOs should focus on developing knowledge capital resources for employees who work in an organization to get a competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The study made a novel contribution that the Saudi NPOs should promote tacit and explicit knowledge-sharing but focus more on explicit knowledge sharing.

Citation

Sharif, S., Albadry, O.M., Durrani, M.K. and Shahbaz, M.H. (2025), "Leadership, tacit and explicit knowledge sharing in Saudi Arabian non-profit organizations: the mediating role of organizational commitment", Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Vol. 74 No. 3/4, pp. 656-677. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-02-2023-0050