Motivational antecedents, employee engagement and knowledge management performance

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the causal relationships between organisational practices, employee knowledge management (KM) engagement and organisational KM performance. Design/methodology/approach Following a quantitative research approach, an online survey of 536 knowledge workers from multinational knowledge-based organisations located in Sri Lanka was carried out. The data were analysed with structural equation modelling. Findings Teamwork, reward structure, learning, performance management and employee empowerment are found to be motivational antecedents of KM engagement while, subsequently, organisational KM performance is affected by employee KM engagement. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study are based on the use of five key organisational practices derived from the literature. Further research is needed to establish whether the findings extend to other organisational practices such as resourcing strategy, organisational culture and communication. Further, the sample for this research comprised knowledge workers in Sri Lankan organisations which limit the generalisability of the findings. Practical implications Teamwork, rewards structure, learning, performance management and employee empowerment are organisational practices that foster employee KM engagement. Organisational practices and employee KM engagement are imperative for the organisational success of KM initiatives. Originality/value This research introduces the term KM engagement as the indicator of individual-level KM success and integrates the sequential linkage between individual-level KM outcomes (i.e. KM engagement) and organisational KM outcomes (KM performance) which has not yet been investigated.

Antecedents of knowledge-seeking intentions and efforts within new product development teams: empirical evidence from knowledge-based Chinese companies

“…The IM of individuals to engage in a task comes from their recognition that the task is meaningful and valuable, brings challenges and pleasures associated with the ultimate satisfaction from completing it (Amabile and Kramer, 2007). Unlike manual workers, NPD team members are knowledge workers whose actions are often intrinsically motivated (Atapattu and Huybers, 2021). When external markets change and new customer needs arise, NPD team members are faced with NPD tasks that require them to seek and use knowledge to generate new and useful ideas to develop product solutions.…”

Exploring the effect of team climate on knowledge management in teams through team work engagement: evidence from knowledge-intensive firms

“…Third, prior studies have highlighted a positive link between work engagement at the individual level and KM practices (Atapattu and Huybers, 2021), yet the effect of work engagement at the team level and KM in teams have not been examined. This research attempted to bridge this research gap and provided evidence that TWEG is a key antecedent of KM in teams.…”

“…At the individual level, work engagement has been proven to be an indispensable factor for effective KM practices in the workplace (Atapattu and Huybers, 2021; Acharya and Jena, 2016). These practices and especially knowledge sharing are time-consuming and challenging activities that are founded on employees’ engagement (Chen et al , 2018).…”

“…Work engagement has been identified as a psychological state that reflects employees' willingness to devote resources to perform their tasks and interact with their colleagues (Fait et al, 2021). Many studies have confirmed the contribution of work engagement at the individual level to knowledge creation, sharing and use at the individual and organizational levels (Atapattu and Huybers, 2021;Acharya and Jena, 2016). Besides these levels, some scholars have proposed to test the mediating effect of team work engagement (TWEG), i.e.…”

Factors Affecting Innovative Work Behavior and Health Worker Performance: The Role of Employee Engagement as a Moderating Variable

“…Third, case studies describe the relationship between employee engagement and specific organizational outcomes. According to Atapattu & Huybers, (2021) Based on the description of the model above, the hypotheses in this study are as follows. H1: There is an effect of implemented performance management system on employee performance in ABC Hospital health workers.…”