Willingness to share or not to share? Understanding the motivation mechanism of knowledge sharing for hospitality workforce

Employees’ willingness to share their knowledge is essential for achieving work goals and can also affect the long-term performance and effectiveness of organizations. This study examines the circumstances in which an employee with a more proactive personality is willing to share knowledge with others. It also investigates two important mechanisms–autonomous and controlled motivation–on the relationship between having a proactive personality and knowledge sharing intention. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that having a proactive personality fosters knowledge sharing driven by autonomous motivation. Conversely, controlled motivation restrains such knowledge sharing intention. Furthermore, our multi-method techniques also illustrate that autonomous motivation mediates the positive relationship between having a proactive personality and knowledge sharing, whereas controlled motivation negatively mediates it. This study contributes to the hospitality literature by investigating the mechanism underpinning the link between having a proactive personality and knowledge sharing intention, and the mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation.