Behavioural operations in healthcare: a knowledge sharing perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide arguments and empirical evidence that different knowledge sharing behaviours – i.e. sharing best practices, sharing mistakes, seeking feedbacks – are promoted and enabled by different types of knowledge assets, and differently affect employees’ innovative work behaviours. Design/methodology/approach The research framework includes four sets of constructs: employees’ innovative work behaviour, knowledge sharing, knowledge assets, psychological safety. The literature-grounded hypotheses were tested collecting data from healthcare professionals from three hospice and palliative care organisations in Italy. In all, 195 questionnaires were analysed using structural equations modelling technique. Findings First, findings show that the linkage between knowledge assets and knowledge sharing is both direct and indirect with psychological safety as relevant mediating construct. The linkage between relational and structural social capital and seeking feedbacks and sharing mistakes is fully mediated by psychological safety. Second, findings show that each dimension of knowledge sharing affects the different dimensions of employees’ innovative work behaviour – i.e. idea generation, idea promotion, idea implementation – in a distinct manner. While sharing of best practices influences all of them, seeking feedbacks affects idea promotion and sharing mistakes influences idea implementation. Practical implications The results provide operations managers with a clearer picture of how to pursue improvements of current operations by leveraging on knowledge sharing among employees through the creation of numerous, high-quality interpersonal relationships among employees, based on rich and cohesive network ties. Originality/value This study, by adopting a micro-level perspective, offers an original perspective on how knowledge assets and knowledge sharing initiatives may contribute to the engagement of innovative work behaviour by employees.