The effect of ambidextrous leadership on knowledge sharing behavior among nurse specialists: a chain mediation role of perceived organizational support and organizational commitment

Knowledge sharing behavior of nurse specialists can cultivate nurses' core abilities, improve the quality of healthcare system services, and enhance people's well-being. Ambidextrous leadership can increase the level of knowledge sharing behavior, but the exact mechanism in nurse specialists remain unclear. This study investigated the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and knowledge sharing behavior among nurse specialists, with a specific focus on the mediation roles played by perceived organizational support and organizational commitment. An anonymous cross-sectional survey with a convenience sampling among nurse specialists was conducted in Anhui Province, east China from July to September 2024. Sociodemographic information questionnaire, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Perceived Organizational Support Scale, Chinese Employees Organizational Commitment Scale and Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale were used to collect data. SPSS23.0 and AMOS 26.0 were used for statistical analysis. A total of 298 nurse specialists participated in this study. The average score of nurse specialists' knowledge sharing behavior was 55.00(10.65). Knowledge sharing behavior was positively correlated with ambidextrous leadership (r = 0.562, p<0.01), perceived organizational support (r = 0.575, p<0.01), and organizational commitment (r = 0.413, p<0.01). The total effect (β = 0.635) of ambidextrous leadership on knowledge sharing behavior consisted of a direct effect (β = 0.320) as well as an indirect effect (β = 0.315) mediated through perceived organizational support and organizational commitment. Perceived organizational support and organizational commitment have a chain-mediated effect (β = 0.056) between ambidextrous leadership and knowledge sharing behavior among nurse specialists, bootstrap 95% confidence interval (0.018,0.131), which represented 8.8% of the total effect. This study confirms that ambidextrous leadership has a significant positive predictive effect on knowledge sharing behavior. Ambidextrous leadership was first associated with an increase in perceived organizational support, followed by a sequential ascend of organizational commitment, which associated with an improvement in knowledge sharing behavior among nurse specialists at last. Hospital managers can increase the levels of knowledge sharing behavior among nurse specialists by improving ambidextrous leadership, perceived organizational support and organizational commitment.