Enabling knowledge sharing through psychological safety in inter-organisational arrangements

Unraveling the relationship between workplace dignity and employees’ tacit knowledge sharing: the role of proactive motivation

Purpose

Drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and proactive motivation model, this study aims to examine the relationship between workplace dignity and employees’ tacit knowledge sharing (TKS) and assess the mediating role of psychological safety and organizational identification in this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected in the three waves from 307 first-line supervisors and professionals of high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing organizations of Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modelling technique is applied using SmartPLS 4 software to test hypothesized relationships.

Findings

Results reveal that workplace dignity is directly and positively related to TKS and psychological safety and organizational identification mediate this relationship.

Practical implications

This study highlights the importance of workplace dignity as a vital determinant of TKS. Findings of this research underscore the need for enactment of humanistic and employee-oriented organizational policies and practices that signal workplace dignity which can result in increased psychological safety and enhanced organizational identification leading towards higher TKS.

Originality/value

This research proffers novel understanding of the nexus between an embryonic socio-emotional element of workplace context, namely, workplace dignity and TKS. This study not only advances knowledge management literature from dignity perspective but also contributes to SET and proactive motivation model.

Foundations of knowledge management: intellectual structure and citation drivers of the Journal of Knowledge Management

Purpose

Journal of Knowledge Management (JKM) is the foremost academic source of knowledge management research. Therefore, to understand the intellectual structure of knowledge management research, this study aims to examine the thematic patterns and evolution of research in JKM.

Design/methodology/approach

Using bibliographic coupling analysis, this study analyzes and maps the intellectual structure of the research published in JKM from 1977 to 2021. It also presents the trends among methodological choices of JKM authors. The study also explores the major components of JKM’s impact, wherein a negative binomial regression analysis is used to uncover the major factors influencing the journal’s citations.

Findings

The findings suggest that the intellectual structure of JKM broadly consists of four major themes: antecedents and consequences of knowledge management, innovation and knowledge management, complexities in knowledge management and firm performance, and knowledge sharing in knowledge management. The findings also reveal the drivers of citations for JKM through the universalism (article order, open access), social constructivism (European and FT100 institution affiliation, references, funding) and presentation (tables, models, appendices, article age) perspectives.

Practical implications

This inclusive overview of JKM will provide useful insights for its editorial board, readers and scholars to chart the ways forward for JKM and the future of knowledge management.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to identify the factors that contribute to JKM's impact from a citation perspective.

A model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation: proposition and application with the case of GOL Airlines

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the risks associated with managing the dispersed knowledge in inter-organizational arrangements for innovation. Specifically, it proposes a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, applied in four steps.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, the authors carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on the concepts that connect knowledge management, inter-organizational arrangements for innovation and risks. The SLR results led to a complementary theoretical review on the conceptual elements in question. Based on the findings, the authors have developed a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which was validated by experts. It was then studied the case of GOL Airlines, a company that uses innovation to overcome the paradox between low-cost and full service in the commercial air transportation industry, considering the application and adjustment of the proposed model.

Findings

Open innovation is one of the inter-organizational arrangement types most applied in the context of innovation. Relations between agents are the primary sources of risks when managing the dispersed knowledge in these arrangements. The authors have found five main risks associated, namely, risk of the innovative effort does not reach the expected objective, risk of knowledge transfer being ineffective, risk of misappropriation of value, risk of dependency (lock-in) and risk of relations.

Practical implications

The practical implication is the proposition of a procedure for applying the model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which makes it a prescriptive model for identifying risks. The proposed model is described in four steps, namely, to identify the agents in the environment of the value of open innovation; to identify the types of relations of each agent; to consider the barriers to knowledge management in innovation; and to assess the risks considering the possibilities derived from the agents, their relationships and the barriers. The model is applied in the GOL case and the results are presented.

Originality/value

First, it uses a novel approach to investigate open innovation while studying its risks. This approach considers the knowledge is dispersed and flows from one organization to another through a combination of relations inside the environment of value where the open innovation materializes. Second, it contributes to theory development by opening a research front that fuses four areas: risk management, knowledge management, innovation and inter-organizational arrangements. Third, this paper proposes a theoretical model and presents its operationalization. The study aims to make an impact beyond academia and uses a case study to illustrate the model application in a real and interesting open innovation project to support the business model at GOL Airlines.