Knowledge Sharing, Social Relationships, and Contextual Performance

Abstract

A firm's core competitiveness results primarily from its ability to innovate. Knowledge sharing plays an important role in promoting sustained innovation. This research examines two factors that enable employee knowledge sharing. Using responses from a questionnaire that was distributed to professionals in a research and development (R&D) department of a Chinese commercial elevator firm, the investigation examines whether social relationships and contextual performance influence knowledge sharing through the moderating effect of employee IT competence. Study findings reveal that social relationships—which include both the degree of centrality of the employee's social network and frequency of interpersonal interaction—and employee contextual performance have a significant positive impact on knowledge sharing. This association, however, is found to be positively moderated by employee IT competence. The findings provide managerial and future research insights pertaining to promoting knowledge sharing by enhancing employee social relationships, rewarding contextual performance, and providing regular IT training for employees.