Willingness to Share and Use Tacit Knowledge among Employees in Team-Based Organisations: Are the Dimensions of Interpersonal Trust Facilitators?

Abstract

While the body of empirical literature on the correlates of general knowledge sharing behaviour is growing, literature that focuses on the predictor of willingness to share and use tacit knowledge is scarce. Moreover, in the few studies that consider tacit knowledge sharing, their focus tends to be on employees in non-profit organisations with little focus on those in profit oriented organisations. This study therefore investigated whether affect-based and cognitive-based trusts will predict willingness to share and use tacit knowledge among employees in team-based organisations in Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample of 487 team-based workers in Lagos, Nigeria. They responded to Affect-based and Cognition-based trusts Scales and Willingness to Share Tacit Knowledge and Use tacit knowledge Questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses generated. The results revealed that team members’ willingness to share tacit knowledge was facilitated by affect-based and cognitive-based trusts. However, affect-based and cognitive-based trusts were not strong factors determining employees’ willingness to use tacit knowledge in team-based industries. Implications of the study were highlighted.

Keywords: tacit knowledge exchange, trust, team-based organisations, Nigeria