Psychosocial antecedents of knowledge sharing in healthcare research centers: a mixed-methods approach

Abstract

PurposeLiterature addressing psychosocial factors’ relation with knowledge sharing in healthcare organizations is still scarce, being of extreme shortage in specific environments, such as healthcare research centers. This paper investigates the impact of psychosocial factors as antecedents of knowledge sharing between healthcare research peers in such environments.Design/methodology/approachBy expanding on the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the authors follow a mixed-methods design to study the relation between perceptions of psychosocial factors and knowledge sharing in healthcare researchers. A quantitative approach uses a structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the links in an original model. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies alternative configurations that lead knowledge sharing intention and its absence as well as the knowledge sharing behavior and its absence considering additional sample characteristics.FindingsFindings show evidence of the proposed psychosocial antecedents' effect on knowledge sharing. Additional configurations of causal conditions that lead to the presence or absence of the intention and knowledge sharing behavior are discussed, with emphasis on both psychosocial antecedent configuration and sample characteristics.Originality/valueThis study identifies the influence of both psychosocial and team characteristic aspects leading to knowledge sharing behavior between healthcare researchers. The importance of a rich social network lying on trust is vital for a sharing environment inside research environments. Given the complex nature of behavioral intentionality, additional findings allow an articulation between individual characteristics, substantiating the proposition of complex configurations between antecedents that hints for team configuration strategies and managerial practices in healthcare research teams.