The influence of workplace age discrimination on knowledge sharing: a moderated mediation model

Purpose Age discrimination, exacerbated by global aging and increased age diversity, often impedes organizational citizenship behavior among employees, such as knowledge sharing. However, existing research on the influencing mechanism of this phenomenon remains inconclusive. Drawing upon the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study aims to investigate the psychological process linking workplace age discrimination to employees’ knowledge-sharing behaviors, as well as the moderating factors, that may influence this relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quantitative research design, using three-wave data collected via the snowball sampling method and structured questionnaire surveys. The sample consisted of 455 employees from China’s diverse industries. Data analysis included confirmatory factor analysis, bootstrapping and regression analyses conducted using Mplus and the Process macro for SPSS. Findings The research findings indicate that workplace age discrimination serves as a key barrier for employees’ knowledge-sharing behaviors, with the mediation of job insecurity. In addition, task interdependence moderates the relationship between job insecurity and knowledge-sharing behavior and the indirect effect of workplace age discrimination on employees’ knowledge-sharing behavior through job insecurity. Originality/value Drawing on the COR theory, this study investigates the mediating mechanisms underlying the impact of workplace age discrimination on employees’ knowledge-sharing behaviors while further examining the factor moderating this relationship. The results confirm that workplace age discrimination depletes employees’ psychological resources (job insecurity) and triggers employees’ defensive posture of self-protection by reducing knowledge sharing. Furthermore, task interdependence, as a work characteristic, serves as an effective source of resource compensation to alleviate the obstacles of job insecurity caused by age discrimination to employees’ knowledge-sharing behavior.