Introduction

In the modern business environment, resources and competencies are key factors that enable organizations to survive, innovate and grow (Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005). According to the knowledge-based theory, knowledge is one such crucial resource that organizations must possess and develop (Nonaka, 1994). Various researchers argue that knowledge resources can become a primary source of sustainable competitive advantage (Zheng et al., 2010; Kapoor and Adner, 2012; Swart et al., 2014). Matusik and Hill (1998, p. 683) also assert that “firms increasingly rely on building and creating knowledge as a necessary condition to survive.” The intellectual capital–based view (Reed et al., 2006) further posits that an organization’s innovative capabilities depend on the competencies and knowledge its members possess (Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005), as well as that organization’s ability to deploy and use them effectively (Martín-de Castro, 2015). By developing capabilities to create, share and utilize knowledge, organizations gain a better position from which to innovate, grow and build sustainable competitive advantages (Chen and Huang, 2009). The core competence theory argues that another key condition for an organization to build a sustainable competitive advantage is to duplicate its core competence across a wide range of markets. However, such duplication is possible only if knowledge can be shared among employees, as well as across the organization’s work units (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). Defined as a process through which information, opinions, ideas, theories and principles are exchanged or disseminated among people or groups in an organization (Appleyard, 1996; Argote and Ingram, 2000), knowledge sharing has become crucial for organizational survival, growth and prosperity (Desouza, 2003; Swart et al., 2014). According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), it also may be a prerequisite for converting general ideas and concepts into specific products. Furthermore, knowledge sharing contributes to the development of various organizational capabilities, such as creativity and innovation, which in turn are vital to organizational effectiveness (Kogut and Zander, 1996). Ryu et al. (2005) identify knowledge sharing as one of the most critical steps in the organizational leaning process that enables individual members to learn from others. King et al.’s (2002) survey of 2,073 knowledge management practitioners and executives reports that the challenge of “how to motivate individuals to contribute their knowledge to a knowledge management system” was considered one of the most critical issues in knowledge management research. Despite its key role in building a competitive advantage (Rhodes et al., 2008), knowledge sharing, thus, remains perhaps the most difficult aspect of knowledge management (Bakker et al., 2006), confirming the importance of academic research into its dynamics in organizations. Understanding how knowledge is created, manifested and shared in the workplace remains important for the success of organizations ( Jang et al., 2002; Michailova and Husted, 2003; Galunic et al., 2014). For researchers, such as Alavi and Leidner (2001), Argote and Ingram (2000) and Pentland (1995), organizational effectiveness is strongly associated with the extent to which knowledge is shared among organizational members.