Despite
leaders’ investment in knowledge management practices, 76% of U.S. employees
are hesitant to share tacit knowledge with co-workers. Researchers have
suggested that willingness to share hinders the tacit knowledge transfer
process. Employees become unwilling to share tacit knowledge with others due to
cooperation and competition. The aim of this research is to understand the role
of peer-to-peer cooperation on willingness to share tacit knowledge (WSTK). A
total of 250 U.S. employees were sampled to measure knowledge-based trust (KBT)
on WSTK. Pearson correlation and linear regression were used to investigate KBT
and WSTK. Results indicated that KBT significantly predicted WSTK. Employee age
and same-gender interactions did not influence the KBT-WSTK relationship. It
was concluded that leaders and managers who promote KBT relationships are
likely to encourage WSTK and create advantages over competitors.
References
[1]
Adler, P. S. (2002). Market, Hierarchy, and Trust: The Knowledge Economy and the Future of Capitalism. In C. W. Choo, & N. Bontis (Eds.), The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge (pp. 100-131). New York: Oxford University Press.
[2]
Agarwal, N. K., & Islam, M. A. (2014). Knowledge Management Implementation in a Library: Mapping Tools and Technologies to Phases of the KM Cycle. Vine, 44, 322-344.
https://doi.org/10.1108/VINE-01-2014-0002
[3]
AlShamsi, O., & Ajmal, M. (2018). Critical Factors for Knowledge Sharing in Technology-Intensive Organizations: Evidence from UAE Service Sector. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22, 384-412. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2017-0181
[4]
An, M., & Ahmad, H. S. (2010). Knowledge Management in Construction Projects: A Way Forward in Dealing with Tacit Knowledge. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management, 1, 16-42. https://doi.org/10.4018/jitpm.2010040102
[5]
Balogun, A. G., & Gabriel, A. (2015). Willingness to Share and Use Tacit Knowledge among Employees in Team-Based Organisations: Are the Dimensions of Interpersonal Trust Facilitators? Information and Knowledge Management, 5, 100-107.
[6]
Bengtsson, M., & Raza-Ullah, T. (2016). A Systematic Review of Research on Coopetition: Toward a Multilevel Understanding. Industrial Marketing Management, 57, 23-39.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.05.003
[7]
Bengtsson, M., Eriksson, J., & Wincent, J. (2010). Co-opetition Dynamics: An Outline for Further Inquiry. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 20, 194-214.
https://doi.org/10.1108/10595421011029893
[8]
Berger, C. R., & Bradac, J. J. (1982). Language and Social Knowledge: Uncertainty in Interpersonal Relations. London, UK: Arnold.
[9]
Berger, C. R., & Calabrese, R. J. (1975). Some Explorations in Initial Interaction and Beyond: Toward a Developmental Theory of Interpersonal Communication. Human Communication Theory, 1, 99-112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1975.tb00258.x
[10]
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
[11]
Bogilovic, S., Cerne, M., & Skerlavaj, M. (2017). Hiding Behind a Mask? Cultural Intelligence, Knowledge Hiding, and Individual and Team Creativity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26, 710-723.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2017.1337747
[12]
Boon, S. D., & Holmes, J. G. (1991). The Dynamics of Interpersonal Trust: Resolving Uncertainty in the Face of Risk. In R. A. Hinde, & J. Groebel (Eds.), Cooperation and Prosocial Behavior (pp. 190-211). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
[13]
Carnahan, S., Kryscynski, D., & Olson, D. (2017). When Does Corporate Social Responsibility Reduce Employee Turnover? Evidence from Attorneys Before and after 9/11. Academy of Management Journal, 60, 1932-1962.
https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2015.0032
[14]
Carroll, M. N. (2002). Gender Differences in Trust and Loyalty within Single-Sex Friendships. New Orleans, LA: Loyola University.
[15]
Connelly, C. E., & Zweig, D. (2015). How Perpetrators and Targets Construe Knowledge Hiding in Organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24, 479489. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2014.931325
[16]
Connelly, C. E., Zweig, D., Webster, J., & Trougakos, J. P. (2012). Knowledge Hiding in Organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 64-88.
https://doi.org/10.1002/job.737
[17]
Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social Exchange Theory: An Interdisciplinary Review. Journal of Management, 31, 874-900.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602
[18]
Daland, H. (2016). Managing Knowledge in Academic Libraries: Are We? Should We? LIBER Quarterly, 26, 28-41. https://doi.org/10.18352/lq.10154
[19]
De Long, D. W., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing Cultural Barriers to Knowledge Management. Academy of Management Executive, 14, 13-27.
https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2000.3979820
[20]
Dietz, G., & den Hartog, D. N. (2006). Measuring Trust inside Organisations. Personnel Review, 35, 557-588. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480610682299
[21]
Dorn, S., Schweiger, B., & Albers, S. (2016). Levels, Phases and Themes of Coopetition: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda. European Management Journal, 34, 484-500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2016.02.009
[22]
Edwards, D. C., Wong, M., Zhang, I. A., & Wu, Q. J. (2017). Ambassadors of Knowledge Sharing: Co-Produced Travel Information through Tourist-Local Social Media Exchange. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29, 690-708.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2015-0607
[23]
Endres, M. L., & Rhoad, K. T. (2016). What Makes a High Performer Share Knowledge? Team Performance Management, 22, 269-283.
https://doi.org/10.1108/TPM-05-2016-0022
[24]
Epstein, L. D. (2000). Sharing Knowledge in Organizations: How People Use Media to Communicate. Berkeley, CA: University of California.
[25]
Evans, M., Frissen, I., & Wensley, A. K. (2018). Organisational Information and Knowledge Sharing: Uncovering Mediating Effects of Perceived Trustworthiness Using the PROCESS Approach. Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 17, Article ID: 1850001.
[26]
Friedman, A., Carmeli, A., & Dutton, J. E. (2018). When Does Respectful Engagement with One’s Supervisor Foster Help-Seeking Behaviors and Performance? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 104, 184-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.11.007
[27]
Gagné, M., Tian, A. W., Soo, C., Zhang, B., Ho, K. S. B., & Hosszu, K. (2019). Different Motivations for Knowledge Sharing and Hiding: The Role of Motivating Work Design. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40, 783-799. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2364
[28]
Ganguly, A., Talukdar, A., & Chatterjee, D. (2019). Evaluating the Role of Social Capital, Tacit Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Quality and Reciprocity in Determining Innovation Capability of an Organization. Journal of Knowledge Management, 23, 1105-1135.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2018-0190
[29]
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2016). SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference (11.0 Update). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315545899
[30]
Gulati, R., & Sytch, M. (2008). Does Familiarity Breed Trust? Revisiting the Antecedents of Trust. Managerial and Decision Economics, 29, 165-190.
https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.1396
[31]
Gupta, B., Wang, K. Y., & Cai, W. (2020). Interactional Justice and Willingness to Share Tacit Knowledge: Perceived Cost as a Mediator, and Respectful Engagement as Moderator. Personnel Review, 50, 478-497. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2019-0436
[32]
Hameed, Z., Khan, I. U., Sheikh, Z., Islam, T., Rasheed, M. I., & Naeem, R. M. (2019). Organizational Justice and Knowledge Sharing Behavior: The Role of Psychological Ownership and Perceived Organizational Support. Personnel Review, 48, 748-773.
https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2017-0217
[33]
Hitchen, E. L. N., Ferràs, P. A., & Mussons, X. S. (2017). Social Media: Open Innovation in SMEs Finds New Support. Journal of Business Strategy, 38, 21-29.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-02-2016-0015
[34]
Holste J. S., & Fields, D. (2010). Trust and Tacit Knowledge Sharing and Use. Journal of Knowledge Management, 14, 128-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673271011015615
[35]
Javernick-Will, A. (2011). Motivating Knowledge Sharing in Engineering and Construction Organizations: Power of Social Motivations. Journal of Management in Engineering, 28, 193-202. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000076
[36]
Kennedy, J., Gubbins, C., & Buckley, F. (2012). How Do Individuals Affect the Process of Managing Tacit Knowledge? In Proceedings of the European Conference on Knowledge Management, (Vol. 2, pp. 1411-1417). ECKM, Academic Publishing International.
[37]
Kim, J. (2015). Integrating Communities of Practice into Library Services. Collabora, 7, 47-55.
[38]
Konovsky, M. A. (2000). Understanding Procedural Justice and Its Impact on Business Organizations. Journal of Management, 26, 489-511.
https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600306
[39]
Kumi, R., & Sabherwal, R. (2018). Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Online Discussion Communities: Examining Behavior Motivation from Social and Individual Perspectives. Knowledge and Process Management, 26, 110-122.
https://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1574
[40]
Kwahk, K. Y., & Park, D. H. (2016). The Effects of Network Sharing on Knowledge-Sharing Activities and Job Performance in Enterprise Social Media Environments. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 826-839.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.044
[41]
Leonard, D., & Sensiper, S. (1998). The Role of Tacit Knowledge in Group Innovation. California Management Review, 40, 112-132. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165946
[42]
Levin, D. Z., & Cross, R. (2004). The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer. Management Science, 50, 1477-1490.
https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1030.0136
[43]
Lewicki, R. J., & Bunker, B. B. (1995). Trust in Relationships: A Model of Development and Decline. In B. B. Bunker, & J. Z. Rubin (Eds.), Conflict, Cooperation and Justice: Essays Inspired by the Work of Morton Deutsch (pp. 133-173). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
[44]
Lewicki, R. J., & Bunker, B. B. (1996). Developing and Maintaining Trust in Work Relationships. In R. M. Kramer, & T. R. Tyler (Eds.), Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research (pp. 114-139). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452243610.n7
[45]
Lewicki, R. J., McAllister, D. J., & Bies, R. J. (1998). Trust and Distrust: New Relationships and Realities. Academy of Management Review, 23, 438-458.
https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.926620
[46]
Li, J., Ling, Y., Ning, L., & Li-Ying, J. (2015). Knowledge Sharing and Affective Commitment: The Mediating Role of Psychological Ownership. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19, 1146-1166. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-01-2015-0043
[47]
Liu, Y., & Phillips, J. S. (2011). Examining the Antecedents of Knowledge Sharing in Facilitating Team Innovativeness from a Multilevel Perspective. International Journal of Information Management, 31, 44-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.05.002
[48]
Locke, E. A. (1999). Some Reservations about Social Capital. Academy of Management Review, 24, 8-9. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.15873796
[49]
Lucas, L. (2005). The Impact of Trust and Reputation on the Transfer of the Best Practices. Journal of Knowledge Management, 9, 87-101.
https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270510610350
[50]
Marquardt, M. J. (1996). Building the Learning Organization. New York: McGraw-Hill.
[51]
Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust. Academy of Management Review, 20, 709-734.
https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1995.9508080335
[52]
McAllister, D. J. (1995). Affect and Cognition-based Trust as Foundations for Interpersonal Cooperation in Organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 24-59.
https://doi.org/10.2307/256727
[53]
McEvily, B., & Tortoriello, M. (2011). Measuring Trust in Organisational Research: Review and Recommendations. Journal of Trust Research, 1, 23-63.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2011.552424
[54]
McEvily, B., & Zaheer, A. (2005). Does Trust Still Matter? Research on the Role of Trust in Interorganizational Exchange. In R. Bachman, & A. Zaheer (Eds.), Handbook of Trust Research (pp. 280-300). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
[55]
McEvily, B., Perrone, V., & Zaheer, A. (2003). Trust as an Organizing Principle. Organization Science, 14, 91-103. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.14.1.91.12814
[56]
McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar, C. (2002). Developing and Validating Trust Measures for E-Commerce: An Integrative Typology. Information Systems Research, 13, 334-359. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.13.3.334.81
[57]
Milkman, K., & Berger, J. (2014). The Science of Sharing and the Sharing of Science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111, 13642-13649. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1317511111
[58]
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23, 242-266.
https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.533225
[59]
Nonaka, I. (1994). A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation. Organization Science, 5, 14-37. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.5.1.14
[60]
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. London, UK: Oxford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-6301(96)81509-3
[61]
Nonaka, I., Byosiere, P., Borucki, C. C., & Konno, N. (1994). Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory: A First Comprehensive Test. International Business Review, 3, 337-351.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0969-5931(94)90027-2
[62]
Obrenovic, B., Jianguo, D., Tsoy, D., Obrenovic, S., Khan, M. A. S., & Anwar, F. (2020). The Enjoyment of Knowledge Sharing: Impact of Altruism on Tacit Knowledge-Sharing Behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1496-1496.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01496
[63]
Okazaki, S. A., & Campo, L. S. (2017). Knowledge Sharing among Tourists via Social Media: A Comparison between Facebook and Tripadvisor. International Journal of Tourism Research, 19, 107-119. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2090
[64]
Pan, W., Zhang, Q., Teo, T., & Lim, V. (2018). The Dark Triad and Knowledge Hiding. International Journal of Information Management, 42, 36-48.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.05.008
[65]
Park, J., & Gabbard, J. L. (2018). Factors That Affect Scientists’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Health and Life Sciences Research Communities: Differences between Explicit and Implicit Knowledge. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 326-335.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.09.017
[66]
Polanyi, M. (1966). The Tacit Dimension. London, UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
[67]
Pugnetti, C., & Elmer, S. (2020). Self-Assessment of Driving Style and the Willingness to Share Personal Information. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 13, 53.
https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13030053
[68]
Razmerita, L. K., & Nielsen K. P. (2016). What Factors Influence Knowledge Sharing in Organizations? A Social Dilemma Perspective of Social Media Communication. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20, 1225-1246. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2016-0112
[69]
Rousseau, D. M. (2001). Schema, Promise and Mutuality: The Building Blocks of the Psychological Contract. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74, 511-541.
https://doi.org/10.1348/096317901167505
[70]
Rupp, D. E., & Mallory, D. B. (2015). Corporate Social Responsibility: Psychological, Person-Centric, and Progressing. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2, 211-236.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111505
[71]
Saparito, P. (2000). Three Dimensions of Trust in Bank-Small Firm Relationships: Instrument Development and Preliminary Examination of the Production of Trust by Various Organizational Structures. Paper presented at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC), Wellesley, MA, June 2000.
[72]
Scott, J. (2000). Facilitating Interorganizational Learning with Information Technology. Journal of Management Information Systems, 17, 81-113.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2000.11045648
[73]
Shah, S. R., & Mahmood, K. (2016). Contributing Factors in Knowledge Sharing for Performance of University Students in Teachers’ Training Programs. Library Management, 37, 496-506. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2016-0067
[74]
Shao, Z., Feng, Y., Wang, T., & Liu, L. (2016). The Impact Mechanism of Charismatic Leadership on Individuals’ Tacit Knowledge Sharing. The Fifteenth Wuhan International Conference on E-Business-IT Project Management, 7, 527-534.
[75]
Shen, H., & Wang, G. (2017). Can Dynamic Knowledge-Sharing Activities Be Mirrored from the Static Online Social Network in Yahoo? Answers and How to Improve Its Quality of Service. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man & Cybernetics: Systems, 47, 3363-3376. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMC.2016.2580606
[76]
Smith, E. A. (2001). The Role of Tacit and Explicit Knowledge in the Workplace. Journal of Knowledge Management, 5, 311-321. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270110411733
[77]
Spender, J. C., & Grant, R. M. (1996). Knowledge and the Firm: Overview. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 5-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250171103
[78]
Stenmark, D. (2000). Leveraging Tacit Organizational Knowledge. Journal of Management Information Systems, 17, 9-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2000.11045655
[79]
Strauss, W., & Howe, N. (1993). 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail? New York: Vintage Books.
[80]
Sun, H., Zhang, L., & Meng, J. (2019). Alleviating Knowledge Contribution Loafing among Engineering Designers by Ethical Leadership: The Role of Knowledge-Based Psychological Ownership and Emotion Regulation Strategies. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24, 235-257. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-06-2019-0301
[81]
Sweeney, G. (1996). Learning Efficiency, Technological Change and Economic Progress. International Journal of Technology Management, 11, 5-27.
[82]
Teece, D. J. (2000). Managing Intellectual Capital: Organizational, Strategic, and Policy Dimensions. London, UK: Oxford University Press.
[83]
Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management. Strategic Management Journal, 18, 509-533.
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO;2-Z
[84]
Thomson, A. M., Perry, J. L., & Miller, T. K. (2009). Conceptualizing and Measuring Collaboration. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19, 23-56.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum036
[85]
Tsai, W., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social Capital and Value Creation: The Role of Intrafirm Networks. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 464-476.
https://doi.org/10.2307/257085
[86]
Tulgan, B. (1995). Managing Generation X. Santa Monica, CA: Merritt.
[87]
Vasin, S. M., Gamidullaeva, L. A., Wise, N. A., & Korolev, K. Y. (2020). Knowledge Exchange and the Trust Institution: A New Look at the Problem. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 11, 1026-1042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-019-00588-2
[88]
Wu, M., Sun, X., Zhang, D., & Wang, C. (2016). Moderated Mediation Model of Relationship between Perceived Organizational Justice and Counterproductive Work Behaviour. Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, 7, 64-81.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHRM-07-2016-0016
[89]
Zhang, C., Xiao, H., Gursoy, D., & Rao, Y. (2015). Tacit Knowledge Spillover and Sustainability in Destination Development. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23, 1029-1048.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2015.1032299
[90]
Zhou, S., Siu, F., & Wang, M. (2010). Effects of Social Tie Content on Knowledge Transfer. Journal of Knowledge Management, 14, 449-463.
https://doi.org/10.1108/13673271011050157
