Purpose Collaboration and preference for teamwork play a fundamental role in strengthening practical completion of team tasks. An organizational culture should facilitate learning systems where knowledge creation occurs through socialization. The purpose of this study is to develop a moderated mediation model, investigating the conditional indirect effect of co-worker support on the relationship between preference for teamwork and communities of practice. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire survey was conducted via Google Forms to collect data from 210 employees working in the private and public sector in India. Hayes PROCESS macro models were used for analyzing the mediation of personal interaction and moderation of co-worker support. Findings This study showed evidence regarding the mediating role of personal interaction on the relationship between preference for teamwork and communities of practice. Co-worker support moderated the relationship between personal interaction and communities of practice. It also moderated the conditional indirect effect. Practical implications The results approve the substantial role of preference for teamwork in influencing personal interaction and communities of practice. The mediating role of personal interaction on preference for teamwork and communities of practice can lead to creation and sustenance of communities of practice. Furthermore, the moderating role of co-worker support as a conditional indirect effect shows that social support and exchange can lead to social learning. Originality/value Theoretical explanations and analytical approaches provide insights into the relationship between the preference for teamwork and communities of practice through a conditional indirect effect, a one of its kind of a study.

PurposeWhat motivates employees to show concern for their team or in-group members, and why is it vital to prefer teamwork and receive support from co-workers at the workplace? Given the significance of social relations in the workplace and drawing from social exchange theory, the present study seeks to examine the association between personal interaction with concern for team members by identifying preference for teamwork and co-worker support (CWS) mediating the relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 261 collected from employees working in varying public and private sector Indian enterprises were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Hayes PROCESS macro to investigate the multiple mediation analysis.FindingsThe findings showed a positive relationship between personal interaction and concern for the team member, which elaborates that increasing personal interaction among employees tends to display concern for their team members. Moreover, teamwork preference and CWS mediated the relationship, demonstrating that preferring teamwork and receiving support from co-workers, the propensity to concern for team members is influenced by personal interaction.Practical implicationsThis research pinpoints how personal interaction among members may develop a feeling of belongingness, leading to concern for their team members. With the inclusion of employees in teamwork and creating a cordial work environment, employees prefer working in groups and teams; they may feel responsible for their group and its members, ultimately helping improve the organization's human capital.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the employee and organizational development by unveiling how employees may develop cordial social relationships through personal interaction, preferring teamwork and CWS.

Purpose This study aims to investigate how an individual’s perception of team goal priority can be affected by personal interaction, with co-worker support mediating the influence and communities of practice moderating the indirect effect of co-worker support. Design/methodology/approach Responses from 235 respondents working in private and public manufacturing and service enterprises in India collected through a structured questionnaire were statistically analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling and PROCESS Macro with random bootstrap resample. Findings Findings showed a positive relationship between personal interaction and the perception of individuals about team goal priority that was partially mediated by co-worker support. Communities of practice moderated the influence of personal interaction on co-worker support and the conditional indirect effect of personal interaction on the perception of team goal priority. Practical implications The results highlight the need for greater employee collaboration towards prioritizing team goals, thus showing a psychologically collectivist attitude. Policies and procedures to create and sustain organization-level communities of practice with employees across departments and hierarchies can also be helpful. Emphasizing the social exchange perspective, the authors recommend improving the overall work climate of any organization. Originality/value This paper explains the motivating source of personal interactions and co-worker support for prioritizing team goals in an organization. Establishing the moderating role of communities of practice, the authors have confirmed the role of a social learning system in prioritizing team goals.

Communities of practice foster sharing of knowledge in the organisations. For the creation of such an organisational-level practice community, a motivating environment for the development of such practice communities should be created by the support perspective among co-workers, supervisors, and the organisation. The present study examines the relationship between Co-Worker Support and Communities of Practice with mediating role of Personal Interaction. The data was collected from 178 respondents representing the manufacturing and service sector Indian Organisations with various demographic characteristics. In accordance with the hypotheses developed, the findings supported the hypotheses. The structural equation modelling showed the path from co-worker support to communities of practice is mediated by Personal Interaction with highly significant results. The theoretical and managerial implications concerning the importance of support, most importantly co-worker support, are mentioned in the study. Future scope of research is suggested based on the current findings of this study.

PurposeThe aim of this article is to empirically investigate the effect of co-worker support on communities of practice with a sequential mediating effect of concern for team members and preference for teamwork.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 216 were gathered from respondents employed as full-time personnel in public and private sector organizations in India using a survey questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis, structured equation modelling and regression analysis were applied to test the formulated hypothesis. Hayes PROCESS macro model was also used to estimate the indirect effects with bootstrap resamples.FindingsThe study's findings revealed the mediating effect of concern for team members and preference for teamwork on the relationship between co-worker support and communities of practice in a sequential manner. The total and direct consequence of co-worker support on communities of practice was also substantial.Originality/valueThis article offers an understanding of the process through which co-worker support is related to communities of practice. This study is the first of its type, basically in the Indian context to the best of the authors’ knowledge.