How knowledge sharing connects interpersonal trust and innovation capability: The moderating effect of leadership support
ISSN: 1750-614X
Article publication date: 9 January 2019
Issue publication date: 3 June 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge sharing (KS) and innovation are generally believed as the antecedents of key outcomes that help firms to attain and sustain competitive advantage in long term. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mechanism of how interpersonal trust and leader support affect KS and improve firm’s innovation capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a research paper which is built using empirical data collected from 68 manufacturing and service firms in China.
Findings
First, the findings show that leader supports moderate the correlation between interpersonal trust and KS. Second, KS serves as mediator in the relationship between interpersonal trust and firm’s innovation capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
KS plays a crucial role in stimulating innovation capabilities for both manufacturing and service firms. Future research should explore the effects of the motivational factors (such as positive psychological state, perceived benefits and costs) on KS and firm’s innovation capabilities.
Practical implications
The paper provides the evidence for the positive effects of interpersonal trust on KS, which in turn is significantly associated with product innovation and process innovation. It highlights the important role of leader supports in promoting the degree of sharing knowledge among individuals to enhance innovation capabilities for firms.
Originality/value
This study puts the theory of innovation forward based on exploring the key factors that have potential and positive impacts on two specific types of innovation capability, namely, product innovation and process innovation, for both manufacturing and service firms.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors sincerely thank the Editorial board and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and valuable comments. The authors appreciate aids from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.71272208, 71521061 and 71790593 and the Ministry of Education foundation for humanities and social science (No.17YJA630041).
Citation
Lei, H., Nguyen, T.T. and Le, P.B. (2019), "How knowledge sharing connects interpersonal trust and innovation capability: The moderating effect of leadership support", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 276-298. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-06-2018-0554
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited