Perceived Climate Of Cha-xu And Trust On Knowledge Sharing: A Moderated Mediation Model

Knowledge is a key factor of an organization’s competitive advantage,and knowledge sharing is critical to organizational long-term sustainability.However,studies examining the inhibitors of knowledge sharing are relatively limited.Thus,this paper will explore for this perspective and provide suggestions to promote employees’ knowledge sharing.Under the social-cultural background of "guan-xi orientation" in China,the researchers put forward the cha-xu climate.As prior research indicates,the perceived climate of cha-xu is related to knowledge sharing.With this study,we seek additional insights into why the perceived climate of cha-xu might influence knowledge sharing behaviors.Based on social exchange theory and social cognition theory,we proposed the mediating role of trust.In addition,to examine the contextual nature of the relationships,we study how task interdependence moderates the relationships of the perceived climate of cha-xu with interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing.In summary,our study constructed a moderated mediation model to understand the mechanism and boundary conditions of the impact of cha-xu climate on employees’ knowledge sharing.This paper adopts a mixed methods designs.Study 1 used the quantitative survey.The data were collected through the online platform,and 509 valid questionnaires were obtained.The Mplus 8.0 software was used and the structural equation model was used for observed variables modeling.The results showed that:(1)the perceived climate of cha-xu was negatively related to employees’ knowledge sharing;(2)the relationship between the perceived climate of cha-xu and knowledge sharing is mediated by the interpersonal trust(trust in leadership and member);(3)at the different levels of task interdependence,the indirect relationship between the perceived climate of cha-xu and knowledge sharing is significant indicating that the mediating moderation effect exists.Study 2 was a qualitative multi-case study design with the main unit of analysis being individual employees.Data is collected through semi-structured interviews for 35 subjects,and the content analysis is used to compare and analyze the data.The results of both Studies 1 and 2 indicated a negative association between the perceived climate of cha-xu and knowledge sharing,trusts in team members,and trust in team leaders,and that both types of trust mediated the relationship between the perceived climate of cha-xu and knowledge sharing.And that task interdependence also mitigated the negative effect of the perceived climate of cha-xu on trust in members and leaders.The results of cases initially support the model.These findings have both theoretical and practical implications.