Managing Peer-to-Peer Cooperation Using Knowledge-Based Trust and Encouraging the Willingness to Share Tacit Knowledge

Despite leaders’ investment in knowledge management practices, 76% of U.S. employees are hesitant to share tacit knowledge with co-workers. Researchers have suggested that willingness to share hinders the tacit knowledge transfer process. Employees become unwilling to share tacit knowledge with others due to cooperation and competition. The aim of this research is to understand the role of peer-to-peer cooperation on willingness to share tacit knowledge (WSTK). A total of 250 U.S. employees were sampled to measure knowledge-based trust (KBT) on WSTK. Pearson correlation and linear regression were used to investigate KBT and WSTK. Results indicated that KBT significantly predicted WSTK. Employee age and same-gender interactions did not influence the KBT-WSTK relationship. It was concluded that leaders and managers who promote KBT relationships are likely to encourage WSTK and create advantages over competitors.