Perceived organizational support and knowledge sharing: employees’ self-construal matters

Abstract

HR professionals are expected to become more involved in knowledge management and facilitate knowledge sharing among employees in the knowledge economy. In this study, we investigated the relationship between perceived organizational support and knowledge sharing by taking account of employees’ interdependent and independent self-construal. Our hypotheses were examined using a 2-wave survey data-set from 145 teachers working at 4 Dutch vocational education and training schools. The results showed that perceived organizational support was positively related to knowledge sharing for employees either with a high interdependent self or with a low independent self. However, this positive relationship disappeared for employees either with a low interdependent self or with a high independent self. Overall, the moderating effect of self-construal revealed a new avenue towards a better understanding of the relationship between organizational support and employees’ knowledge sharing. It provided a tentative answer to the question of why organizational support does not often succeed in motivating employees to share their knowledge in the workplace.     

Managing knowledge through human resource practices: empirical examination on the Spanish automotive industry

This paper considers the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and knowledge management (KM). Specifically, it examines how the human resource (HR) practices that are expected to impact on employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity to engage in KM, do so by enabling knowledge sharing, knowledge maintaining, and knowledge creation within organizations. HRM expected to impact employees’ abilities include training and development practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ motivation include rewards and appraisal practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ opportunities including providing the support of trusting collaborative relationships. Therefore, HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunities are expected to be positively related to knowledge sharing and maintaining within organizations. HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity are expected to be positively related to knowledge creation through their effect on knowledge sharing within organizations. Our research methodology uses a questionnaire survey approach to collect data from firms belonging to the Spanish automotive industry. Results from a final sample of 64 Spanish automotive firms show that HR practices aimed at motivating and giving employees the opportunity to behave as expected significantly affect knowledge sharing and maintaining. Further, knowledge sharing and maintaining is shown to mediate the relationship between HR practices and knowledge creation. The paper ends with a conclusion, limitations and implications for future research.     

Linking HRM and knowledge transfer via individual‐level mechanisms

In response to recent calls for more research on micro‐foundations, we seek to link human resource management (HRM) and knowledge transfer through individual‐level mechanisms, arguing that individual‐level conditions of action influence the extent to which employees engage in knowledge exchange. We examine four such conditions empirically using data from 811 employees in three Danish multinational corporations (MNCs). Our findings suggest that individual‐level perceptions of organizational commitment to knowledge sharing, and extrinsic motivation, directly influence the extent to which employees engage in firm‐internal knowledge exchange. We also find that intrinsic motivation and engagement in social interaction significantly mediate the relationship between perceived organizational commitment and knowledge exchange. Given that HRM can influence such conditions through an overall signaling effect and various practices, an understanding of these micro‐foundations will shed light on how organizations can effectively enhance knowledge transfer through HRM. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cultural differences in organizational citizenship behavior: a comparison between Chinese and American employees

The present study examined the differences in the perceptions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) between Chinese and American employees. Survey responses concerning the presence of OCB in their organizations were collected from a total of 393 employees. Analyses showed that Chinese and American employees reported similar levels of personal support and conscientious initiative in their organizations, but Chinese employees reported higher levels of organizational support in comparison with American employees. In addition, results indicated that perceptions of personal support, organizational support, and conscientious initiative were a function of job/hierarchical level such that management reported lower levels on all three dimensions of OCB. Finally, the results showed that country and job/hierarchical level do not interact to influence perceptions of organizational citizenship behavior. Implications and directions for future research on cultural differences in organizational citizenship behavior are discussed.     

Perceived training intensity and knowledge sharing: Sharing for intrinsic and prosocial reasons

This study investigated the relationship between perceived training intensity and knowledge sharing, including the moderating roles of intrinsic motivation and social and economic exchange perceptions. Data from 310 employees working in three organizations located in Norway revealed a positive relationship between perceived training intensity and knowledge sharing for employees with low levels of intrinsic motivation and economic exchange perception, and high levels of social exchange perception. These findings suggest that perceived training intensity increases knowledge sharing only under specific motivational influences. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc     

A multilevel analysis of the effects of HR diversity management on employee knowledge sharing: the case of Chinese employees

This study explored the effects of human resource diversity management on employee knowledge sharing and the mediating and moderating variables underlying this link, among Chinese employees. Multilevel analyses of the data from 716 respondents in 37 firms revealed that organizational-level HR diversity management practices explained significant variance in employee knowledge sharing. The relationship between HR diversity management and knowledge sharing was fully mediated by employee trust in the organization. Moreover, cooperative norms moderated the second stage of the mediation, which is the relationship between trust in the organization and knowledge sharing. The findings of this research provide important insights into the relationship between HR diversity management and employee work outcomes.     

Why Complementary HRM Practices Impact Performance: The Case of Rewards,Job Design,and Work Climate in a Knowledge‐Sharing Context

The strategic HRM literature suggests that HRM influences employees in combinations of practices that “fit” each other rather than as stand‐alone practices; however, it pays little attention to the underlying individual‐level mechanisms. In contrast, the HRM literature on knowledge sharing examines the influence of single practices on individual‐level knowledge sharing, but fails to include the influence of combinations of practices. We link the idea of fit between practices to employee motivation for knowledge sharing by arguing that rewards may be ambiguous and difficult to interpret, but that such ambiguity may be reduced if rewards are combined with other aligned HRM practices, notably job design and work climate. Thus, fit is established through the ambiguity‐reducing effect of combining specific HRM practices. Accordingly, we test for complementarities among rewards, job design, and work climate in the form of a three‐way interaction among these variables with respect to their impact on knowledge‐sharing motivation. Our analysis of 1,523 employees in five knowledge‐intensive firms shows that employees who are exposed to knowledge‐sharing rewards experience higher levels of autonomous motivation to share when they are simultaneously exposed to a noncontrolling job design and work climate that support knowledge sharing. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Gainsharing and knowledge sharing: the effects of labour–management co-operation

We compare patterns of employee knowledge sharing in the form of suggestions for reducing costs and improving productivity submitted as part of a gainsharing reward system in two organizations. Combining insights from recent studies that use employee risk sharing and organizational learning frameworks to understand how gainsharing programmes work, we propose that employees' willingness to share high-risk (second-order-learning) knowledge with management is affected by the degree of labour–management co-operation and trust. Specifically, we hypothesize that union support and involvement in gainsharing affects employee knowledge sharing by increasing employees' initial acceptance of the compensation risk associated with gainsharing and by facilitating employee willingness to take on additional compensation and employment risk over time. We test these hypotheses using time series data on employee suggestions and gainsharing performance at two locations with similarly structured gainsharing plans but different levels of labour–management co-operation. The results generally support our hypotheses. We conclude by considering the implications of these results for gainsharing design and implementation as well as the broader implications of the effect of HR practices on employee knowledge sharing and knowledge management in organizations.     

Using profit sharing to enhance employee attitudes: A longitudinal examination of the effects on trust and commitment

The ability of profit sharing to increase organizational performance via positive changes in employee attitudes has yielded mixed results. Drawing on principal agent, expectancy, and organizational justice theories, we assess how perceptions of profit sharing (capacity for individual contribution and organizational reciprocity) alter organizational commitment and trust in management using longitudinal data provided by 141 engineering employees. Favorable perceptions of profit sharing served to increase organizational commitment while only organizational reciprocity predicted trust in management. The relationship between organizational reciprocity and commitment was partially mediated by trust in management. Implications for the design of profit sharing initiatives are noted. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The influence of human resource management on knowledge sharing and innovation in Spain: the mediating role of affective commitment

The aim of this paper is to explain and to test empirically how human resource management (HRM) practices contribute to knowledge sharing and innovation through employees' affective commitment. Results show that HRM practices do not influence knowledge sharing in a direct way, but they do have a positive effect when affective commitment mediates the relationship. We also find a positive relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation performance. That is, HRM practices contribute to knowledge creation and innovation through the generation of the affective commitment necessary for employees to be willing to share their knowledge. The relationships identified have been tested by applying structural equation models to a sample of 87 R&D departments of Spanish innovative companies.     

Entitlement to Work‐Life Balance Support: Employee/Manager Perceptual Discrepancies and Their Effect on Outcomes

We broaden contemporary understandings of the relationship between HR practices that support work‐life balance and organizational as well as individual outcomes, through a focus on perceptual discrepancies of entitlement. To theorize this notion, we adopt the self‐perception accuracy model and extend it by investigating whether any employee/management discrepancies in perceptions of entitlement mediate the relationship between HR practices supporting work‐life balance and outcomes. We use data from 20 European countries and apply a multilevel statistical methodology. Our results did not reveal significant mediation effects, but the perceptions of managers, not of employees, are related to HR practices that support work‐life balance. Furthermore, employees tend to have higher expectations of entitlement than does management. Finally, the more aligned management and employee perceptions of entitlement, the higher the positive organizational and individual outcomes over and above contextual idiosyncrasies. Findings denote that, in achieving positive outcomes for employees and organizations, managing perceptions regarding organizational support for work‐life balance is more important than actual support practices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Line managers’ AMO to manage employees’ performance: the route to effective and satisfying performance management

Abstract

Performance management systems are used to increase employees’ performance with the ultimate aim of increasing organizational performance. Organizations rely on line managers to implement performance management systems and to engage in a continuous process of goal-setting, feedback, coaching and performance appraisal with their employees. Drawing on the AMO theory, we predict that the effectiveness of performance management implementation will be a function of three factors. First, line managers should have the Ability to enact the activities that are involved in performance management. Secondly, they should be Motivated to perform these activities. Thirdly, line managers should have sufficient Opportunity to fulfill these activities on top of the demands from other organizational. If not, they could experience role conflict. We developed several cross-level hypotheses. The data came from 71 line managers and 318 employees working in Flemish education. Hierarchical linear modelling found that line managers’ AMO to implement performance management systems was positively related to employees’ satisfaction with the system. These relationships were mediated by employees’ perceptions that the performance management system is strong. A strong system signals that its features are salient across employees and that the system is clear and understood. This study has several theoretical and practical implications.     

The role of HRM and social capital configuration for knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration: a framework for future empirical investigation

The literature on human resource management (HRM) indicates that HRM plays an important role in merger and acquisition (M&A) integration success, but pays little attention to the mechanisms for knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration. Limited work has been carried out to provide understanding on how social capital and HRM practices influence intra-organizational knowledge sharing in M&A integration. This paper primarily focuses on the phenomenon of social capital and HRM practices – one of the primary means by which knowledge sharing can occur within firms. The main aim of this paper is to provide an alternative framework that introduces the literature on HRM and social capital to discuss how HRM practices and the various dimensions of social capital may enhance knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration. Drawing on the literature on social capital and HRM, we offer an alternative view on the issue of knowledge sharing in M&A integration by explaining how specific HRM practices that have an impact on employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities for participating in knowledge sharing activities may depend on relational, cognitive and structural social capital. We isolate a number of HRM practices and social capital variables that may enhance knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration, and develop a research model and propositions for future empirical investigation.     

Extrinsic motivation as a determinant of knowledge exchange in sales teams: A social network approach

This paper investigates extrinsic motivation as a determinant of knowledge exchange among employees in sales teams. Applying a social network approach, we study different forms of knowledge-exchange behaviors from the perspective of a focal employee and from the perspective of the dyad. From the focal employees' perspective, we disentangle knowledge seeking from knowledge providing, and argue that these two behaviors are affected differently by employees' extrinsic motivation. From the dyad perspective, we take similarity in motivation of tied-to employees and reciprocity of exchange ties into account. To test our hypotheses, we apply exponential random graph models to data gathered from 138 employees in five different sales teams distributed across three companies in Central Europe. The results of our analysis from the focal employees' perspective show that extrinsically motivated employees generally engage in less knowledge exchange. The dyad perspective further highlights that sales employees proceed purposefully when they exchange knowledge with coworkers. For instance, two employees' relative levels of extrinsic motivation determine their willingness to engage in reciprocal knowledge exchange. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on the microfoundations of organizational knowledge management and draw conclusions concerning HRM practices used to foster extrinsic motivation, thereby affecting knowledge exchange.     

Perceptions of HR practices and innovative work behavior: the moderating effect of an innovative climate

Abstract

The purposes of this paper are to explore the effect that perceived HR practices have on the innovative work behavior (IWB) of individual workers and to examine the role that an innovative climate plays in this relationship. We hypothesize that employees will show greater IWB if they perceive the organizational climate to support innovation and perceive the presence of HR practices related to a compensation system, training and development, information sharing, and supportive supervision. Using data from 463 individuals in four Dutch manufacturing companies, the study tests the effects of employees’ perceptions of HR practices and of an innovative climate on their innovative behaviors. We found that employee perceptions of a compensation system are negatively related to IWB, and that employee perceptions of information sharing and supportive supervision are positively related to IWB. The effect of perceptions of information sharing and training and development on IWB are moderated by an innovative climate, in such a way that information sharing has a stronger effect on IWB and training and development a weaker one. Managers can stimulate innovative behavior by investing in information sharing, supportive supervision, and establishing an innovative climate.     

Interactions Between Organizational Culture,Trustworthiness, and Mechanisms for Inter‐Project Knowledge Sharing

This research used a multiple‐case study approach to empirically investigate the complex relationship between factors influencing inter‐project knowledge sharing—trustworthiness, organizational culture, and knowledge‐sharing mechanisms. Adopting a competing values framework, we found evidence of patterns existing between the type of culture, on the project management unit level, and project managers’ perceptions of valuing trustworthy behaviors and the way they share knowledge, on the individual level. We also found evidence for mutually reinforcing the effect of trust and clan culture, which shape tacit knowledge‐sharing behaviors.     

It Takes Three to Tango: Exploring the Interplay among Training Intensity,Job Autonomy,and Supervisor Support in Predicting Knowledge Sharing

This study explored whether the relationship between perceived training intensity and knowledge sharing is prone to combined moderating influences. We operationalized perceived training intensity as a challenge stressor, in accordance with the challenge‐hindrance framework of work stressors. The results of a study of 129 employees from three Norwegian service industries revealed a positive relationship between perceived training intensity and supervisor‐rated knowledge sharing for employees reporting high levels of perceived job autonomy and high levels of perceived supervisor support. In contrast, we found a negative relationship between perceived training intensity and supervisor‐rated knowledge sharing for employees reporting high levels of perceived job autonomy and low levels of perceived supervisor support. These findings suggest that supervisors are of vital importance in facilitating knowledge sharing among employees in settings where developmental challenges are prevalent and perceptions of job autonomy are high. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Electronic monitoring in public organizations: evidence from US local governments

Technology use in the workplace expands the ability to monitor employees through activities such as website tracking, email scanning, and social media monitoring. Monitoring is a fundamental aspect of the relationship between organizations, employees, and stakeholders and can affect perceptions of privacy, autonomy, and trust in the workplace. However, electronic monitoring is little investigated in public management research and we have minimal knowledge about the factors that prompt public managers to adopt electronic monitoring. Focusing on small- and medium-sized US municipalities, we investigate types of electronic monitoring and how organizational, sociopolitical, and technological factors shape electronic monitoring intensity. We test our hypotheses with data from a 2014 national survey of 2,500 local managers, website coding data, and US Census data. We find that electronic monitoring, especially monitoring online activities, is a response to organizational centralization, participation of internal stakeholders, social media use, and technology concerns.     

基于模糊数学方法的员工知识共享能力的评估

在当今知识社会中,知识管理受到越来越多企业的关注,是企业能否保持和创造竞争优势的关键,而作为知识管理最核心的内容——知识共享更是重中之重。现今关于知识共享的研究大都局限在从组织和个人两方面来促进知识共享顺利进行,但没有一个较好的评价体系。如何对员工知识共享能力进行正确的评估关系到企业知识共享乃至知识管理的成败。     

Knowledge sharing,work–family conflict and supervisor support: investigating a three-way effect

Despite the importance of knowledge sharing in competitive environments, there is a paucity of studies examining the relationship between employee knowledge sharing and work–family conflict. Drawing on insights from conservation of resources theory, this study investigated how employees may reduce their knowledge-sharing behaviors when they experience resources lost from work interference with family (WIF) or family interference with work (FIW). Furthermore, the role of supervisor support in the relationship among WIF, FIW and knowledge sharing was explored as a valuable resource. Using data collected from 159 employees in South Korea, we found support that WIF is negatively related to knowledge sharing. In addition, the role of supervisor support in the relationship among WIF, FIW and knowledge sharing was the strongest when WIF is low and FIW is high, thus supporting the hypothesized a three-way effect. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.