Knowledge Exchange and the Trust Institution: a New Look at the Problem

In the knowledge economy, the search and exchange of knowledge is widely recognized as a key factor contributing to the creation and mobilization of company’s knowledge resources to maintain its competitive advantage. This study is devoted to identifying the role of interpersonal trust in the process of searching and sharing knowledge. Theoretical analysis shows that previously conducted studies in this research field are mainly focused on revealing the relationship between interpersonal trust and the willingness to use knowledge. This study is interested in the willingness to establish contact between economic actors for the purpose of knowledge exchange, and this becomes important when discontinuities in innovation result from a lack of knowledge exchange and interaction between stakeholders. The effects of two different types of interpersonal trust (cognition-based trust and affect-based trust) on willingness to share explicit and tacit knowledge between individuals have been separately examined and tested. The analysis conducted is based on data obtained from surveying 295 employees from large organizations in Penza, Russia. To validate the survey, a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling was undertaken to verify advanced causal hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, a multiple correlation-regression analysis was used. Results reveal that both types of interpersonal trust positively correlate with the willingness to share both explicit and implicit knowledge. Additionally, it has been established that the willingness to share tacit knowledge is more influenced by affect-based trust between individuals, while cognition-based trust is more significant in explaining the willingness to share explicit knowledge. The need to create favorable conditions within organizations to ensure the exchange of knowledge without constraints is highlighted.