The relationship between stress and maturity in knowledge management

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationships among organizational stress, disengagement from knowledge sharing and knowledge management maturity in a public institution of higher education in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive and quantitative means were used; in particular, a questionnaire developed by Batista (2012), the Instrument for Knowledge Management Assessment in the Brazilian Public Administration, a scale developed by Ford and Staples (2008) to measure the disengagement from knowledge sharing and the Occupational Stress Scale, developed by Paschoal and Tamayo (2004) were used to collect data. A multivariate analysis was performed, including the use of structural equation modeling to relate the constructs to each other. Findings A positive significance was found in the relationships between organizational stress and disengagement from knowledge sharing and between stress and maturity in knowledge management. This finding supports the suggestion of Ford et al. (2015) that health, a key indicator, is directly related to disengagement from knowledge sharing. Research limitations/implications This study adopted a cross-sectional design, so a longitudinal or experimental research may discover other insights. Originality/value These results will be interesting to managers because stress management initiatives can help guide or identify opportunities to improve maturity in knowledge management and knowledge sharing.

How question type influences knowledge withholding in social Q&A community

“…First, this study identifies two key factors that lead to knowledge withholding in a particular context of social Q&A communities: fear of negative evaluation and fear of exploitation. Previous studies on knowledge withholding in organizational contexts have focused on factors such as fear of losing competitive advantage, lack of incentives, and job insecurity (Anaza & Nowlin, 2017; Han et al, 2021; Marques et al, 2019; Serenko & Bontis, 2016). However, these factors insufficiently explain knowledge withholding in social Q&A communities due to their unique characteristics.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that certain personality traits, such as neuroticism and unconscientiousness, can increase the likelihood of knowledge withholding (Pan & Zhang, 2018). Furthermore, various organizational and work‐related factors have been found to lead to knowledge withholding, such as a competitive psychological climate, lack of trust among employees, inadequate rewards, occupational stress, and job insecurity (Anaza & Nowlin, 2017; Han et al, 2021; Marques et al, 2019; Serenko & Bontis, 2016). These studies suggest that individuals perceive knowledge as a valuable private asset and, thus, strategically withhold it for competitive advantage within organizations.…”

Antecedents and Consequences of Work Stress Behavior

“…Poor job performance by employees will cause inefficiency in organizational performance. Other consequences of work stress are work-family conflict (Rabenu et al, 2017), perceived organizational support (Saadeh and Suifan, 2020), and maturity to manage knowledge (Marques et al, 2020). A summary of the consequences of work stress can be seen in Table 2.…”

Possible negative effects of big data on decision quality in firms: The role of knowledge hiding behaviours

“…This study also provides an extension of adaptive cost theory to the new context of big data. This theory is often used in organisational settings (Marques, La Falce, Marques, & De Muylder, 2019; Totterdell et al, 1995), but rarely in IS and specifically big data contexts. This study shows the importance of integrating IS and big data research with organisational‐behaviour literature on undesirable employee behaviours.…”