Spreading the light of knowledge: nexus of job satisfaction, psychological safety and trust

Abstract

Given the strategic importance of knowledge in current competitive business environment, it becomes imperative to unfold the possible avenues to motivate the employees to share knowledge with fellowmembers in the organization. The article investigates, mechanism of influence of job satisfaction on knowledge sharing behavior of Indian IT- professionals from the lens of social-exchange theory and Job demands-Resources (JD-R) model. A longitudinal study of 106 respondents from Indian IT firms indicates that job satisfaction directly and indirectly encourages the individual to share their knowledge. Specifically, the authors found trust in management and psychological safety mediated this relationship. Implications of their findings for practice and limitations of the study and directions for future research have also been discussed.