Optimisation of knowledge sharing behaviour capability among sales executives: application of SEM and fsQCA

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sabbir Rahman ◽  
Bashir Hussain ◽  
Hasliza Hassan ◽  
Ishrat Jahan Synthia

Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate the effects of supportive, innovative and information technology (IT)-driven organisational culture on the optimisation of knowledge-sharing behaviour capability (KSBC) among sales executives. The authors propose that such effects are mediated by the sense of well-being (SWB) and IT-driven absorptive capacity (ITAC) among sales executives. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model was developed. Survey data were based on a sample of 323 sales executives of different manufacturing and service-intensive (i.e. business to consumers) firms. The data analyses were conducted by structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methods. Findings Results from SEM support all the direct relationships. Supportive and innovative organisational culture has a significant and positive influence on the optimisation of KSBC among sales executives, and these effects are mediated by their SWB. Moreover, the ITAC of sales executives mediated the relationships between IT-driven organisational culture and optimisation of KSBC among them. Results from fsQCA with the same data show that ITAC and SWB among sales executives are necessary conditions for the optimisation of KSBC. In addition, ten combinations of these variables were explored, where three sufficient conditions significantly influenced the outcome variable. Research limitations/implications This study is cross-sectional in nature and is conducted among sales executives by combining the data from manufacturing and service-intensive firms. To examine the proposed model, this study can be supplemented by future research using a longitudinal data collection method separately. Practical implications This research shows an effective role to optimise KSBC among sales executives in the field of knowledge management practice literature. Supportive, innovative and harmonious culture, IT-driven communication platform and well-established IT learning plans implemented by the firms can sophisticate to optimise KSBC among sales executives. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is a pioneer study conducted to explain the KSBC among sales executives by using mixed methods research. This research discusses the antecedent of knowledge-sharing capability among sales executives from the viewpoint of sales executive’s psychology and identifies the different roles of SWB and ITAC on individual’s KSBC.

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qijie Xiao ◽  
Fang Lee Cooke ◽  
Felix Mavondo ◽  
Greg J. Bamber

PurposeThe purpose of the research is to examine the antecedent and employee well-being outcomes of employees' perceptions of benefits schemes.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using both paper-based and web-based questionnaires over two time points (one month apart). The sample included 281 participants in eight companies in China. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the relationship between Chinese traditionality, perceived benefits schemes, job involvement and emotional exhaustion.FindingsChinese traditionality is an antecedent of employees' perceptions of benefits schemes. Perceived benefits schemes are negatively associated with emotional exhaustion. Moreover, job involvement mediates the relationship between perceived benefits schemes and emotional exhaustion.Research limitations/implications The data were collected in eight manufacturing companies in China, which may raise concerns about the generalisability of findings across industries, nations and cultures. Larger, more representative and cross-contextual samples are needed for future research to test the results further.Practical implicationsManagers should anticipate that employees with different cultural values may develop dissimilar perceptions of the same benefits schemes. Hence, managers need to communicate the benefits schemes to distinct employee groups in different ways.Originality/valueBased on the conservation of resources model, this research offers theoretical insights into the mechanisms through which perceived benefits schemes influence employee health well-being. In addition, this research tests an antecedent of perceived benefits schemes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-22

Purpose The purpose of this study is to summarize findings from research into knowledge sharing and to provide suggestions for further research. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was carried out through three phases – review protocol, conducting the review and reporting the review. A thematic analysis was carried out on 61 peer reviewed studies. Findings The review looks at the impact of knowledge sharing in three categories – individual, team and organizational. The main factors studied were creativity, performance and learning. Knowledge sharing goes beyond work-related impacts and has a positive effect on team climate, job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Directions for future research were identified as adopting an interaction and process perspective, investigating negative, differential and psychological impacts and improving methodology through use of qualitative and longitudinal studies. Practical implications As knowledge sharing does have positive psychological effects including enhanced job and life satisfaction it would be beneficial to build it into the organization’s well-being program. Originality/value This paper has an original approach as it is the first systematic review to be carried out on research into knowledge sharing and suggests areas for further investigation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 1451-1473
Author(s):  
Siew Imm Ng ◽  
Fang Zhao ◽  
Xin-Jean Lim ◽  
Norazlyn Kamal Basha ◽  
Murali Sambasivan

Purpose The well-being of the elderly is a growing issue of concern for countries around the world. One way to enhance the elderly well-being is to provide housing options suitable to their needs and lifestyle. Retirement village is an accommodation concept foreign to the Malaysian population. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to bridge this literature gap by analyzing factors that may inhibit or motivate the buying intention of a retirement village unit among the elderly in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 261 Malaysian elderly and analyzed using structural equation modeling PLS. Findings The results indicated that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and social sustainability were significant predictors that explained elderly buying intention of retirement village. Originality/value The study also found a significant moderating role of religion in attitude–intention relationship. The paper concludes with the study’s implications, limitations and recommendations for future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1254-1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Fullwood ◽  
Jennifer Rowley

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to construct and investigate relationships between knowledge-sharing factors, attitude and the intention to share of UK academics, as research on knowledge sharing in higher education is extremely sparse. Design/methodology/approach A research model and hypotheses were constructed from individual and organisational factors that were identified to affect knowledge sharing. Questionnaire data were obtained from 367 academics concerning their attitude and intention towards knowledge sharing. This was then used in a two-stage structural equation modelling approach where the measurement model was used for confirmatory factor analysis. The structural model was used to measure and test the hypothesised relationships. Findings Findings indicate that, in general, individual beliefs amongst academics were more influential on their knowledge-sharing attitudes than organisational culture. Furthermore, leadership was the most influential factor within the overall organisational culture whereas autonomy demonstrated the weakest relationship. Belief in the possibility of rewards through associations was found to be a highly significant individual factor. The relationship between attitude and intention was relatively weak although still statistically significant. Originality/value The research demonstrates that management should ensure that departmental leaders promote knowledge sharing and that valued rewards are linked to sharing within the department.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai Nguyen ◽  
Ashish Malik ◽  
Piyush Sharma

Purpose This study aims to combine the theory of planned behave or (TPB) and the motivational framework to extend the research on online knowledge sharing (OKS) in an organization by exploring the factors that drive the knowledge sharing intentions (KSI) of posters and lurkers. Design/methodology/approach A field survey with 501 employees in Vietnamese telecommunication companies is used to collect the data and a structural equation modeling approach with AMOS 25.0 is used to test all the hypotheses. Findings Attitudes toward OKS and subjective norms influence online KSI for both posters and lurkers. Self-enjoyment has a stronger effect on the attitudes toward OKS for posters than lurkers. Self-efficacy, reciprocity and rewards only affect posters and not lurkers. Research limitations/implications This study uses self-efficacy and self-enjoyment to represent intrinsic motivation and reciprocity and rewards for extrinsic motivation. Future research may use additional motivational factors to provide additional insights. Practical implications Managers should pay greater attention to subjective norms and attitudes toward knowledge sharing to motivate all the employees to share knowledge with each other to improve organizational performance. Originality/value This is the first study to combine TPB with the motivational framework to explore the factors that drive online knowledge sharing in an organization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-630
Author(s):  
Makoto Matsuo

PurposeAlthough positive psychology asserts that authenticity comes from identifying and using our strengths, no quantitative research has been conducted to test that relationship. This study aims to examine the mediating role of work authenticity in linking strengths use to career satisfaction and proactive behavior.Design/methodology/approachUsing a two-wave survey with nurses in two large, acute hospitals in Japan (n = 298), a structural equation model was produced.FindingsThe results show that work authenticity fully mediated between strengths use and career satisfaction, and that work authenticity partially mediated between strengths use and proactive behavior.Research limitations/implicationsAs work authenticity, career satisfaction and proactive behavior were measured at time 2, it is desirable to conduct a three-wave survey to measure these variables separately in future research.Practical implicationsIt may be imperative to recognize that employees who use their strengths are satisfied with their careers only by enhancing authenticity at work.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study was to identify the mediating role of work authenticity in linking strengths use to both career-related well-being and proactive work behaviors.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1056-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C M Yam ◽  
Cliff Chan

Purpose – In today’s market, firms are riding on the wave of globalisation to enhance competitiveness through corporate collaboration in new product development (NPD). In joint NPD, huge amounts of information and knowledge are interchanged among business partners. However, industrial experience and past research have indicated that knowledge sharing among firms invite opportunism, that is, knowledge being leaked or misused by others. To determine the means to rectify the problems of opportunism in joint NPD, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of commitment and knowledge sharing on opportunism. Design/methodology/approach – An online questionnaire survey was conducted to verify the research model with 312 valid responses from manufacturing firms. The survey data were analysed by structural equation modelling, and the findings were verified by follow-up interviews. Findings – Contradictory to most studies, this study finds that knowledge sharing among committed business partners suppresses, rather than invites, opportunism. Research limitations/implications – This finding is new in the literature with strong managerial implication. Firms that hesitate to share their knowledge with others because of the fear of opportunism should commit more seriously to their business partners so that they could share knowledge for better NPD. Originality/value – This study has reversed the sceptical belief of knowledge sharing leading to opportunism. This new belief will encourage corporate collaboration in joint NPD. However, for a comprehensive view on opportunism in inter-firm NPD, other governance mechanisms, that is, contract and trust, should also be studied in future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil Kumar Goswami ◽  
Rakesh Kumar Agrawal

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the influence of shared goals and hope on knowledge sharing and knowledge creation in organizations. Furthermore, it examines the mediating role of hope in the relationship between shared goals and knowledge sharing and between shared goals and knowledge creation. Design/methodology/approach This study has used quantitative research methodology wherein the data have been collected from 221 employees of information technology (IT) companies in India using survey questionnaire. Structural equation modelling has been applied to test the hypotheses of the study. Findings The findings of the study reveal that shared goals and hope positively influence knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. Shared goals also affects hope positively. Further, hope acts as a mediator between shared goals and knowledge sharing and between shared goals and knowledge creation. Research limitations/implications This study is a cross-sectional study conducted in IT companies in India. It can be supplemented by future studies through qualitative approaches and longitudinal data collection. Practical implications The study makes a significant contribution to literature by considering shared goals and hope as antecedents of knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. It provides directions to managers to focus on various interventions to strengthen shared goals and hope amongst employees to motivate them to share and create knowledge that can help the organization to get sustainable competitive advantage. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is an early study conducted to examine the influence of shared goals and hope on knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. Further, hardly any study has examined the mediating role of hope in the relationship between shared goals and knowledge sharing and between shared goals and knowledge creation.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Ain Hidayah Abas ◽  
Mei-Hua Lin ◽  
Kathleen Otto ◽  
Izazol Idris ◽  
T. Ramayah

PurposeAcademia is known for its high competitiveness, with prestige and diverse responsibilities and achievements being decisive determinants of success resulting in academic incivility. This paper extends Lazarus and Folkman's theory of stress by examining the moderating role of interpersonal justice (IJ) , as supervisory support, on academics' job satisfaction and depressivity.Design/methodology/approachThe study recruited 185 academics from a public university in Malaysia to participate in a survey. Using the partial least squares- structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis, academic incivility was negatively related to job satisfaction, whilst positively related to depressivity.FindingsAs hypothesized, it was found that the predicted detrimental effect of academic incivility on job satisfaction was buffered by perceiving high IJ from their immediate supervisors, i.e. deans or heads of department. An unanticipated finding was that there was a stronger relationship between academic incivility and depressivity for those academics who perceived high supervisory IJ.Practical implicationsFurther, academic management can formulate and revise zero-incivility policies and promote awareness explaining the detrimental impacts of incivility, despite support systems in academia.Originality/valueThis study provides the first empirical evidence showing the differential impact of supervisory IJ on two conditions of incivility–well-being relationships. Work culture and various sources of incivility should be considered for future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 610-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fazlul K. Rabbanee ◽  
Mohammad Moinul Haque ◽  
Shanta Banik ◽  
Mohammad Majedul Islam

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer a better understanding of managing engagement in an emerging economy service. It explores the role of organisational climates for initiative and psychological safety as the key drivers of employee engagement (EE). It also examines the effects of EE on customer engagement (CE) and, in turn, on relationship commitment and switching intention. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a structured survey of service employees and customers of 69 bank branches in Bangladesh using two survey instruments. Responses were collected from 156 employees and 316 customers. A dyadic data set was created by matching customer data with the corresponding employee data collected from each bank branch. Structural equation modelling using AMOS (version 22.0) was employed for data analysis. Findings Organisational climates for initiative and psychological safety positively influence EE. In turn, EE significantly influences CE which has a significant impact on customer relationship commitment and switching intention. Research limitations/implications Future research could consider actual customer behaviour, such as repeat purchase, as the key outcome variable. Practical implications The findings emphasise that investment by service managers in organisational resources to facilitate favourable climates for initiative and psychological safety would engage employees at work, which would ultimately help to attain CE and commitment, and reduce switching intention. Originality/value This research extends the existing engagement literature with empirical evidence supporting two new EE drivers and two new CE outcomes. It offers a better understanding of managing engagement in the financial services industry of an emerging economy, focussing on the relationship chain from organisational climate to EE, CE and customer-based outcomes.


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