Knowledge Sharing as a Means to Relationship Building: The Role of Expected Relationship Improvement in Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

Knowledge sharing is critical to an organization's competitive advantage, yet an individual's knowledge-sharing behavior indicates a loss of personal competitive advantage. From a social exchange perspective, knowledge sharing may be considered an expression of friendship and support that strengthens interpersonal relationships. Thus, we hypothesized that expected relationship improvement increases the relationship between knowledge-sharing intention and knowledge-sharing behavior. Using 252 sets of dyadic data collected from 23 teams, we found that expected relationship improvement moderated the relationship between knowledge-sharing intention and knowledge-sharing behavior. That is, the relationship between knowledge-sharing intention and knowledge-sharing behavior was stronger when individuals perceived that sharing knowledge with coworkers could result in higher personal gain by improving their relationship with the coworker. Implications for future knowledge-sharing research and managerial practice are discussed.