HRM and knowledge-transfer: a micro analysis in a Middle Eastern emerging market

Abstract

This is a study surrounding the interplay between Human Resource Management (HRM) and knowledge transfer within an emerging institutional petro-state. It seeks to link HRM and knowledge transfer through individual-level mechanisms in response to the recent calls for more research on micro-foundations. Our findings provide empirical evidence for HRM-related factors influencing knowledge exchange in a sample of 815 employees in the national context of the UAE. We found that individual-level perceptions and extrinsic motivation have a positive impact on knowledge exchange; however, we found evidence to suggest only an indirect effect of individual perceptions of organisational commitment to knowledge exchange, via individual intrinsic motivation and social interaction. Unlike some existing accounts from the Western world, individual perceptions of organisational commitment to knowledge sharing had no direct positive impact on knowledge exchange – an issue that may be ascribed to the distinct institutional setting of the UAE. This paper adds to the existing literature on HRM and knowledge exchange by bringing to bear new evidence from a Middle Eastern emerging market setting – an area thus far relatively neglected in the literature.

Keywords:

• emerging markets
• extrinsic motivation
• HRM
• institutions
• intrinsic motivation
• knowledge exchange
• organisational commitment

Acknowledgement

The authors are indebted to the insights and suggestions of the Editor of this journal and two anonymous referees. All shortcomings are ours.

Notes on contributors

Washika Haak-Saheem, PhD, is an assistant professor in the College of Business Administration at the University of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Her current research interests include international HRM, institutionalism, knowledge management and learning organisation in emerging market settings.

Tamer K. Darwish, PhD, is a Reader in Human Resource Management (HRM), and the Head of HRM Research Centre in the Business School, University of Gloucestershire. His research interests lie in the areas of strategic HRM, international and comparative HRM, organizational performance, and knowledge management. He has published in these areas in leading management and HR journals.

Amjad D. Al-Nasser, PhD, is a professor and chair in the Department of Statistics at the Yarmouk University of Jordan and the founding editor of the Electronic Journal of Applied Statistical Analysis (EJASA). His research interests include generalised maximum entropy, structural equation modelling, data envelopment analysis and ranked set sampling. His research has appeared in leading journals including Journal of Applied Statistics, Modern Journal of Applied Statistical Methods, Nonparametric Statistics, Statistica Neerlandica, Communication in Statistics and Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation.