Linking Tacit Knowledge Sharing to Employee Innovation with Job Thriving as a Mediational Factor: A Public Sector Perspective

Abstract

Tacit knowledge sharing affects different employee-related outcomes, including job thriving and employee innovation. However, in public organizations, the bureaucratic constraints on knowledge sharing make its link to job thriving and innovation seem tentative. Besides, the contextual factors affecting the link between tacit knowledge and employee innovation are not fully understood. Hence, this study empirically examines the link between tacit knowledge sharing and employee innovation with job thriving as a mediator in a public organization in Delta State, Nigeria. Data from 169 mid-level staff at the Delta State Ministry of Health were collected and analyzed using the Partial Least Square (PLS) method to test the hypotheses. The study’s findings reveal that tacit knowledge sharing has a significant positive relationship with job thriving and employee innovation. Further, job thriving has a significant positive relationship with employee innovation, as well as mediating the significant positive relationship between tacit knowledge sharing and employee innovation. Importantly, practical implications for public organizations looking to improve tacit knowledge sharing, job thriving, and employee innovation emerge from these findings; principal among them is the need to foster a knowledge-sharing culture and supportive work environment.