BRIDGING THE GAP: ORGANISATIONAL IDENTIFICATION AS A CATALYST FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT FULFILMENT AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Abstract

This study sets out to investigate the influence of psychological contract fulfilment and organisational identification on knowledge sharing behaviour among knowledge workers. A survey-based study on 233 knowledge workers was conducted to investigate the direct and indirect effect of psychological contract fulfilment. Results show that organisational identification mediates the effect of psychological contract fulfilment on knowledge sharing behaviour. This study highlights the pertinence of fulfilling the underlying expectations of knowledge workers to encourage them to share their valuable knowledge. While numerous studies which employed the social exchange theory (SET) had attempted to identify specific factors that could encourage employee to initiate knowledge sharing, this study focused on the underlying process that could explain why these factors worked in encouraging knowledge sharing. Fundamentally, this study posited that when psychological contracts were not violated, employees tend to identify with their organisations better. Consequently, they share their valuable knowledge with others within the organisation.