Team climate, empowering leadership, and knowledge sharing

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of team climate and empowering leadership on team members' knowledge‐sharing behavior. Design/methodology/approach: A research model was developed based on prior knowledge management studies. Survey data were collected from 434 college students at a major US university, who took courses that required team projects. The partial least squares technique was applied to test the research model. Findings: Team climate and empowering leadership significantly influence individuals' knowledge‐sharing behavior by affecting their attitude toward knowledge sharing. These two constructs also have significant direct effects on the knowledge‐sharing behavior. Research limitations/implications: The student sample and US setting might limit the generalizability of the findings. Nonetheless, this study is based on and extends prior research, which provides a deepened understanding of knowledge sharing in the team context. Practical implications: This research has practical implications for how to design teams to facilitate knowledge sharing. It suggests that cohesive, innovative teams with members trusting one another and led by empowering leaders will have a higher level of knowledge sharing. Originality/value: This research originally examines the effects of both team climate and empowering leadership on knowledge sharing. Little prior research has carried out such an integrated analysis. This paper will have significant value for organizations trying to redesign teams to enhance knowledge management.