Daily knowledge sharing at work: the role of daily knowledge sharing expectations, learning goal orientation and task interdependence.

Abstract

Knowledge sharing is vital for organizational success. Yet, most research treats it as a static behaviour, overlooking its fluctuations within individuals over time. Drawing on role theory and a cost-benefit framework, we argue that knowledge sharing expectations conveyed by supervisors and co-workers on a given day positively predict employees' actual knowledge sharing on that day. Furthermore, we propose that learning goal orientation and task interdependence - key between-person characteristics - moderate this within-person relationship. We tested these hypotheses in two preregistered 10-day diary studies among UK employees (Study 1: 557 daily surveys from 101 respondents; Study 2: 401 daily surveys from 88 respondents). The results showed that daily knowledge sharing expectations are positively related to employees' daily knowledge sharing, with the strongest effect size for co-worker knowledge sharing expectations. While perceived task interdependence did not moderate this day-level relationship, learning goal orientation showed varying moderating effects across studies: At higher levels of learning goal orientation, the positive day-level relationship was stronger in Study 1 but weaker in Study 2. Our study offers novel insights into the short-term nature of knowledge sharing and its boundary conditions, highlighting the importance of both daily knowledge sharing expectations and individual differences in shaping knowledge sharing in organizations.