Influence mechanism of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing among project members

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence mechanism of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing among project members in Chinese construction industry, and test the moderating role of organizational commitment between them in order to find a new approach from the perspective of psychology to improve the knowledge sharing performance within project management organizations in China constantly. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study was used based on confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis with a sample of 540 project members from 80 project management organizations in China. Findings Research results showed that job satisfaction and positive affect of project members both have a significant positive impact on knowledge sharing; organizational commitment could moderate the influence of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing among project members partially within the Chinese context. Research limitations/implications A questionnaire study from China only represents the relationship and regular pattern within a shorter time interval in the Chinese context. It is necessary to continue to implement a longitudinal study in a relatively long period in future research. Practical implications Knowledge sharing among project members can be enhanced through improving job satisfaction and positive affect, and strengthening project members’ organizational commitment can amplify the influence effect of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing. Originality/value This paper clarifies the direct influence mechanism of project members’ job satisfaction and positive affect on explicit knowledge sharing (EKS) and tacit knowledge sharing (TKS), and further tests the partial moderating effect of organizational commitment on the influence relationship of job satisfaction and positive affect on EKS and TKS.

Influencing Mechanism of Job Satisfaction on Safety Behavior of New Generation of Construction Workers Based on Chinese Context: The Mediating Roles of Work Engagement and Safety Knowledge Sharing

“…JS is generally considered as a key element of employees and has a close relationship with job performance [ 42 ]. Meanwhile, this kind of pleasant and positive emotions can directly promote employees’ in-role and extra-role behaviors, such as work engagement (WE) [ 43 ], knowledge sharing behavior [ 27 ] and organization citizenship behavior [ 44 ]. Given the importance of JS, researchers have paid close attention to the determinants of JS in different contexts.…”

“…Given the importance of JS, researchers have paid close attention to the determinants of JS in different contexts. These factors include the characteristics related to work and the work environment (such as safety, promotion, participation in decision making, salary), training and learning opportunities, social support, and perceived pressure [ 27 , 45 ]. On the whole, there are complex combinations of influencing factors of the JS.…”

“…From top to bottom, the research objects involve project managers [ 46 , 47 ], project management personnel and technicians [ 27 ], foreign workers [ 48 ] and construction craft workers [ 49 ]. Research reveals the unique role of JS in the construction industry, which can promote project success [ 50 ] and knowledge sharing among project members [ 27 ] in complex project situations. Especially for safety in construction workplaces, JS can not only significantly affect workers’ perception of safety [ 12 ], but also have a strong relationship with safety climate creation (managers and organizations).…”

“…As an important part and stage of knowledge management, knowledge sharing means that individuals, teams and organizations share knowledge with other members in the form of activities in various ways [ 53 ]. According to the type of knowledge and the difficulty of expression, it can be divided into explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing [ 27 ]. Explicit knowledge in organizations is systematic and can be coded and communicated; conversely, tacit knowledge is subjective and difficult to express, capture and share, but it has huge potential value [ 54 , 55 ].…”

“…However, no study has examined the antecedents or promotion mechanisms underlying the SB among Chinese young construction workers, i.e., NGCWs. In addition, as an important factor that can reflect positive attitude and stimulate behavioral initiative [ 27 ], job satisfaction (JS) is less associated with the SB of construction workers. Previous sporadic clues point to a positive relationship between JS and construction workers’ safety perception [ 12 , 28 ], thus further investigation of the relationship between the JS and SB of construction workers is required.…”