Abstract
PurposeThis paper examines the influence of leader humility on knowledge sharing intention. Drawing on social exchange theory (SET), we test the direct and indirect mechanisms to explain the influence leader humility has on knowledge sharing intention.Design/Methodology/ApproachA two-wave, time-lagged field study was conducted. We surveyed 252 professional employees from Australia.FindingsResults show a significant direct, positive association between leader humility and knowledge sharing intention. While leader humility had a direct, positive association with affective trust in supervisor and work engagement, it did not directly impact on organizational citizenship behaviors directed toward the individual (OCB-I). There were three SET-related, serial mediators in the relationship between leader humility and knowledge sharing intention. These were affective trust, work engagement, and OCB-I.Research Limitations/ImplicationsFuture studies should collect multi-source data such as peers’ or supervisors’ ratings of the focal respondents’ work engagement, OCB-I, and knowledge sharing behaviors to augment single-source data. Future studies could adopt an affect theory of social exchange to further explore the relationships tested in this study.Originality/ValueThis study contributes to the affect SET and knowledge management literature on how leadership behaviors impact the intention to share knowledge. Our study highlights the preference of the willingness to share knowledge with their co-workers is mediated by affective trust in their immediate supervisors, work engagement, and OCB-I that are equally important as treating their subordinates with humility.
Highlights
Knowledge is a critical source of sustainable competitive advantage (Spender and Grant, 1996), and organizational success relies heavily on employees’ motivation and willingness to share knowledge with others (Wang and Noe, 2010)
Our finding shows that OCBI is a social exchange theory (SET)-outcome of affective trust and work engagement
We suggest Human Resource (HR) managers focus on using HR practices to recruit, select, retain, and develop supervisors to exhibit leader humility behaviors
Summary
Knowledge is a critical source of sustainable competitive advantage (Spender and Grant, 1996), and organizational success relies heavily on employees’ motivation and willingness to share knowledge with others (Wang and Noe, 2010). Wang and Noe’s (2010) extended Gagné’s (2009) framework to include organizational-level factors such as leadership behaviors, interpersonal relationships, and their influences on knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing intention can be theorized as an outcome of high-quality social exchange relationships at work (Bock et al, 2005; Wang et al, 2015). Scholars (Wang and Noe, 2010; Gagné et al, 2019) have called for more research to examine the direct and indirect role of leadership in promoting a trustworthy social exchange environment to motivate knowledge sharing among employees
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