Linking knowledge sharing to innovative behavior: the moderating role of collectivism

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between behavior-oriented knowledge sharing and innovative behavior and the moderating effects of collectivism on the aforementioned relationship. It also assesses the impact of epistemic motivation and pro-social motivation on behavior-oriented knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach Focusing on Chinese context, the study conducts a questionnaire survey to test the research model. Linear regression analysis is used to examine the main effects of the independent variables, and the multi-level linear regression model is used to evaluate the moderating effects of the controlled variables. Findings The findings reveal that epistemic motivation stimulates individual-oriented knowledge sharing and pro-social motivation stimulates organization-oriented knowledge sharing. Organization-oriented knowledge sharing impacts more than individual-oriented knowledge sharing on innovative behavior. Moreover, collectivism is shown to positively moderate the relationship between behavior-oriented knowledge sharing and innovative behavior. Practical implications The study provides evidence that motivation should be significantly considered when sharing knowledge. Managers should prioritize the promotion of employees’ epistemic and pro-social motivation. The study also suggests that encouraging collectivism should be an important objective, as it moderates the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovative behavior positively. Originality/value The study emphasized how individual-oriented and organization-oriented knowledge sharing impacts innovative behavior differently and how collectivism moderates that relationship. It also illustrates how epistemic and pro-social motivation affects behavior-oriented knowledge sharing. The study contributes to a stream of research that links knowledge sharing and innovative behavior.