Examining the effect of individualism and collectivism on knowledge sharing intention : An examination of tacit knowledge as moderator

Purpose – The paper aims to explore the impact of personal cultural orientation (individualism and collectivism) on knowledge sharing intention (KSI), and to test the moderating effect of tacit knowledge (AK) on the main causal relationships. It proposes modeling the knowledge-sharing process and outlining why and how AK is important throughout the process. Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for an empirical study using the approach of survey, by sending 400 questionnaires to the employees selected under the branches of the First Automobile Workshop (FAW) in Changchun, who are the major force in direct contact with dissemination of knowledge in the enterprises. A regression analysis was used. Findings – Individualism and collectivism orientations both have significantly positive impacts on KSI; the employees who are more collectivism-orientated are more willing to share knowledge than those who are more individualism-orientated; the higher degree is the AK, the weaker is the relationship between individualism and KSI and the stronger is the relationship between collectivism and KSI. Practical implications – The practical implication of our findings is that when designing human resource development (HRD) strategies to enhance employees’ KSI, the factors of cultural values and the knowledge attribute need to be taken into consideration. Originality/value – The paper shows that the personal cultural orientations of individualism and collectivism have positive impacts on the KSI. AK makes different effects on the two relationships by weakening the relationship between individualism and KSI and by strengthening the relationship between collectivism and KSI.