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Does humility facilitate knowledge sharing? Investigating the role of humble knowledge inquiry and response

Author

Listed:
  • Amitabh Anand

    (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur)

  • Isabelle Walsh

    (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur)

  • Sandra Moffett

    (Faculty of Computing and Engineering [University of Ulster] - University of Ulster)

Abstract

Purpose-Despite the strong focus on virtues in firms, humility is little recognized in the management literature and, more particularly in the literature about knowledge sharing (KS). Despite efforts to foster KS among employees in firms, the effectiveness of this process narrows down to the dyadic relationship between the knowledge seeker and provider within firm. This paper aims to investigate the role of humility in the KS process in dyadic activity. Design/methodology/approach-The authors undertake an exploratory investigation to fill some of the gaps found in the literature. The paper draws insights from psychology, history, religion, current events and management literature. Findings-The authors identify several individual propensities that help predict humility towards sharing knowledge from seeker (humble knowledge-inquiry) and provider perspectives (humble response). They propose a new conceptual process model of KS with humility as an important variable to consider. This work highlights several promising directions for future research. Originality/value-As per the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the role of humility in knowledge sharing from dyadic perspective. The authors also introduce concepts of humble knowledge inquiry and humble response in a dyadic context for effective knowledge sharing process.

Suggested Citation

  • Amitabh Anand & Isabelle Walsh & Sandra Moffett, 2019. "Does humility facilitate knowledge sharing? Investigating the role of humble knowledge inquiry and response," Post-Print halshs-02284002, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02284002
    DOI: 10.1108/JKM-06-2018-0353
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02284002v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gee W. Bock & Young-Gul Kim, 2002. "Breaking the Myths of Rewards: An Exploratory Study of Attitudes about Knowledge Sharing," Information Resources Management Journal (IRMJ), IGI Global Scientific Publishing, vol. 15(2), pages 14-21, April.
    2. Antonio Argandona, 2015. "Humility in Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 63-71, November.
    3. Ewa Krok, 2013. "Willingness to Share Knowledge Compared with Selected Social Psychology Theories," Contemporary Economics, Vizja University, vol. 7(1), March.
    4. Kevin Zheng Zhou & Caroline Bingxin Li, 2012. "How knowledge affects radical innovation: Knowledge base, market knowledge acquisition, and internal knowledge sharing," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(9), pages 1090-1102, September.
    5. Daniel Z. Levin & Rob Cross, 2004. "The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(11), pages 1477-1490, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jae-Heon Do & Seung-Wan Kang & Suk Bong Choi, 2021. "The Effect of Perceived Supervisor–Subordinate Congruence in Honesty on Emotional Exhaustion: A Polynomial Regression Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Amitabh Anand & Audrey Dalmasso & Sumukh Hungund & Piera Centobelli & Roberto Cerchione & Jean-Pierre Dumazert, 2024. "Abusive Supervision Effects on Employee Knowledge Hiding Behavior in Academia," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 7375-7401, June.
    3. Anna Pietruszka-Ortyl & Małgorzata Ćwiek, 2021. "Social Facilitators of Specialist Knowledge Dispersion in the Digital Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-25, May.
    4. Venkatesh, Viswanath & Davis, Fred D. & Zhu, Yaping, 2022. "A cultural contingency model of knowledge sharing and job performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 202-219.
    5. repec:ers:journl:v:xxiv:y:2021:i:special1:p:989-1009 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Amitabh Anand & Piera Centobelli & Roberto Cerchione, 2020. "Why should I share knowledge with others? A review-based framework on events leading to knowledge hiding," Post-Print hal-02870014, HAL.
    7. Anna Pietruszka-Ortyl & Małgorzata Cwiek, 2021. "Trust in the Diffusion of Professional Knowledge," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 1), pages 989-1009.

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