Knowledge sharing, work–family conflict and supervisor support: investigating a three-way effect

Abstract

Despite the importance of knowledge sharing in competitive environments, there is a paucity of studies examining the relationship between employee knowledge sharing and work–family conflict. Drawing on insights from conservation of resources theory, this study investigated how employees may reduce their knowledge-sharing behaviors when they experience resources lost from work interference with family (WIF) or family interference with work (FIW). Furthermore, the role of supervisor support in the relationship among WIF, FIW and knowledge sharing was explored as a valuable resource. Using data collected from 159 employees in South Korea, we found support that WIF is negatively related to knowledge sharing. In addition, the role of supervisor support in the relationship among WIF, FIW and knowledge sharing was the strongest when WIF is low and FIW is high, thus supporting the hypothesized a three-way effect. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords::

• conservation of resource theory (COR)
• knowledge sharing
• supervisor support
• three-way effect
• work–family conflict

Acknowledgments

We thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on an earlier draft of this article. Thanks to their valuable insights, we were able to conduct additional analyses and develop a three-way interaction model. We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions on a draft of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.