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Exploring the role of psychological safety in promoting the intention to continue sharing knowledge in virtual communities

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  • Zhang, Yixiang
  • Fang, Yulin
  • Wei, Kwok-Kee
  • Chen, Huaping

Abstract

Virtual communities play an important role in business, society, and education. At present, one of the great challenges faced by virtual communities is the availability of knowledge, which is mainly created through knowledge-sharing behavior. Although prior studies have extensively studied knowledge-sharing behavior in virtual communities from various perspectives, they largely ignored the important role of psychological safety in this process. We propose to address this gap by examining psychological safety and its effect on individuals’ intention to continue sharing knowledge. We also identify trust in the virtual community and self-consciousness as antecedents of psychological safety. The research model is empirically tested through a survey across two virtual communities in a major university. The results show that the condition of psychological safety has a positive influence on the intention to continue sharing knowledge. The level of trust has a positive impact on the intention to continue sharing knowledge not only directly, as documented in the literature, but also indirectly, through the mediating role of psychological safety. Finally, we find that self-consciousness exerts a negative influence on feelings of psychological safety. The implications of our findings and the need for future research are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yixiang & Fang, Yulin & Wei, Kwok-Kee & Chen, Huaping, 2010. "Exploring the role of psychological safety in promoting the intention to continue sharing knowledge in virtual communities," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 425-436.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:30:y:2010:i:5:p:425-436
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.02.003
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ying Hua & Shuang (Sara) Ma & Yonggui Wang & Qimeng Wan, 2017. "To reward or develop identification in online brand communities: evidence from emerging markets," Information Technology for Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 579-596, July.
    3. Yuan Jin & Ho Cheung Brian Lee & Sulin Ba & Jan Stallaert, 2021. "Winning by Learning? Effect of Knowledge Sharing in Crowdsourcing Contests," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 836-859, September.
    4. Secil Bulbul & Serin Isiacik & Serpil Aytac, 2022. "Measurement of Perceived Psychological Safety: Integration, Review and Evidences for the Scale in the Context of Turkey," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 65(65), pages 15-28, June.
    5. Manhua Zheng & Decong Tang & Chenwen Wei & Anxin Xu, 2023. "Can Transformational Leadership Affect the Two Dimensional Creativity of Middle Managers in Retail Enterprises? The Mediating Role of Psychological Security," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    6. Zhao, Ling & Lu, Yaobin & Wang, Bin & Chau, Patrick Y.K. & Zhang, Long, 2012. "Cultivating the sense of belonging and motivating user participation in virtual communities: A social capital perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 574-588.
    7. Hashim, Kamarul Faizal & Tan, Felix B., 2015. "The mediating role of trust and commitment on members’ continuous knowledge sharing intention: A commitment-trust theory perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 145-151.
    8. Ma, Danni & Fee, Anthony & Grabowski, Simone & Scerri, Moira, 2022. "Dual Organizational Identification in Multinational Enterprises and Interpersonal Horizontal Knowledge Sharing: A Conceptual Model," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1).
    9. Omer Erdem Kocak, 2016. "How to Enable Thriving at Work through Organizational Trust?," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 5(4), pages 40-52, July.
    10. Peng, Zeyu & Sun, Yongqiang & Guo, Xitong, 2018. "Antecedents of employees’ extended use of enterprise systems: An integrative view of person, environment, and technology," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 104-120.
    11. Chou, En-Yi & Lin, Cheng-Yu & Huang, Heng-Chiang, 2016. "Fairness and devotion go far: Integrating online justice and value co-creation in virtual communities," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 60-72.
    12. Jinhee Kim & Soojin Lee & Gukdo Byun, 2020. "Building a Thriving Organization: The Antecedents of Job Engagement and Their Impact on Voice Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-17, September.
    13. Cai, Zhao & Huang, Qian & Liu, Hefu & Wang, Xiaoyan, 2018. "Improving the agility of employees through enterprise social media: The mediating role of psychological conditions," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 52-63.
    14. Pari Irai & Allan Cheng Chieh Lu, 2018. "Exploring the relationship among psychological safety, knowledge sharing, and innovation," Journal of Administrative and Business Studies, Professor Dr. Usman Raja, vol. 4(3), pages 126-135.

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