The more the better … or is it? The contradictory effects of HR practices on knowledge‐sharing motivation and behaviour

Abstract

This article examines how individual‐level antecedents such as motivation and ability to share knowledge mediate the relationship between HR practices and knowledge‐sharing behaviour. The results of a survey of 329 secondary school teachers reveal the contradictory effects of different HR practices on the mediating roles of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to share knowledge and subsequent knowledge‐sharing behaviour of teachers. The study demonstrates that opportunity‐enhancing HR practices act as a moderating condition that activates either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation to share knowledge and may completely offset the effect of motivation‐enhancing HR practices. The study makes a distinctive contribution by demonstrating how certain combinations of HR practices aimed to enhance knowledge sharing might in fact be a costly solution for organisations, as they activate different mediating mechanisms in the HRM–knowledge‐sharing behaviour link.