Employee Oriented vs. Work Oriented Cultures and the Moderating Role of Education on Intention to Share Knowledge

This study attempts to use Geert Hofstede´s dimensions of organizational culture to examine how organizational culture moderates knowledge sharing behaviour. In particular, this study focuses on the dimension of employee oriented vs work oriented culture, which captures the extent to which the organization emphasizes care for employee well-being vs care for employee performance. Through analyses of a field survey of 207 professionals from more than 10 firms in both private and the government sectors, several hypotheses were confirmed. First, higher employee oriented culture predicted increased knowledge sharing behaviour, and this effect was mediated by increased endorsement of organizational knowledge sharing norms. Second, these effects were particularly strong among highly educated employees-that is, among those likely to have knowledge-and skill-intensive occupations. The results suggest that organisational cultures that value employee well-being may foster social norms and attitudes that are conducive to knowledge sharing behaviour, and that this effect may be particularly pronounced in workplaces that require high levels of education.