Open AccessThe Effect of Social Capital on Tacit Knowledge-Sharing Intention: The Mediating Role of Employee Vigor
Author(s) -
Yang Cai,
Yan Song,
Xia Xiao,
Wendian Shi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
sage open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.357
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 2158-2440
DOI - 10.1177/2158244020945722
Subject(s) - tacit knowledge , social capital , structural equation modeling , knowledge sharing , business , mechanism (biology) , knowledge management , psychology , path analysis (statistics) , cognition , explicit knowledge , marketing , sociology , computer science , social science , philosophy , epistemology , machine learning , neuroscience
The role of social capital in predicting knowledge sharing has received considerable attention in research. However, very limited research has investigated the mechanisms mediating this relationship. To address this important gap in knowledge, the purpose of this study was to examine employee vigor as a psychological mechanism mediating the effect of social capital on tacit knowledge-sharing intention. Data collected from 209 employees in multiple industries in China were empirically tested by using structural equation modeling analysis. The results show that social capital positively affects emotional energy, which then positively influences the intention to share tacit knowledge. However, neither physical strength nor cognitive liveliness mediates the path through which social capital impacts tacit knowledge-sharing intention. Our research findings unpack the impact mechanism of social capital on tacit knowledge-sharing intention, and provide practical insights into how to use social capital to facilitate employees to share tacit knowledge in organizations.