Enhancing knowledge sharing among knowledge workers in the international higher education context: a moderating effect of grit

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are considered pivotal for knowledge sharing activities. Knowledge workers employed by HEIs not only educate future experts, but also contribute to the overall societal prosperity by actively sharing knowledge through the international projects their affiliations chose to participate in. Since successful project’s realisation highly depends on sharing both explicit and tacit knowledge among knowledge workers, it is wise to explore their personal abilities which shape their attitudes towards knowledge sharing. Preliminary analysis identified openness, trust and mentoring as important abilities in knowledge sharing, while grit proved its importance as a moderator. To explore these hypotheses, data was collected by knowledge workers employed in thirteen HEIs active in nine CEEPUS (Central European Exchange Program for University Studies) networks. The study used cross-sectional data collected from a sample of 208 staff members of CEEPUS HEIs. A moderated mediation model was tested to analyse the impact of knowledge workers' abilities on knowledge sharing.The results confirmed openness and mentoring facilitate sharing of both explicit and tacit knowledge, while grit supports only tacit knowledge sharing. As tacit knowledge is more difficult to share, gritty individuals may achieve better results. Hence HR experts should develop practices to improve grit among knowledge workers.This study is one of the few to explore a combination of specific personal abilities and grit in improving knowledge sharing among knowledge workers in the international surrounding. Given the rigour applied in project’s evaluation, these findings can help HEIs to train and select knowledge workers according to their aptitude to share knowledge.

高等教育机构（Higher Education Institutions, HEIs）被视作知识共享活动的核心枢纽。供职于高等教育机构的知识工作者，不仅肩负着培育未来专业人才的使命，更通过所属机构参与的国际项目积极开展知识共享，为全社会的繁荣发展贡献力量。由于项目的成功实施高度依赖知识工作者间显性知识与隐性知识的双向共享，探究影响其知识共享态度的个人能力维度，便具备重要的学术与实践价值。前期分析已明确，开放性、信任与指导能力是知识共享过程中的关键能力，而坚毅（grit）则被证实可作为重要调节变量发挥作用。为验证上述研究假设，研究团队从活跃于9个中欧大学交流项目（Central European Exchange Program for University Studies, CEEPUS）网络的13所高等教育机构的知识工作者中采集了数据。本研究采用横断面数据，样本涵盖208名CEEPUS合作高等教育机构的教职员工。研究构建了有调节的中介模型，用以分析知识工作者能力对知识共享的影响机制。研究结果证实，开放性与指导能力可同时促进显性知识与隐性知识的共享，而坚毅（grit）仅对隐性知识共享具有显著助推作用。鉴于隐性知识的共享难度远高于显性知识，具备坚毅特质的个体往往能在知识共享活动中取得更优成效，因此人力资源专家应针对性制定培养方案，以提升知识工作者的坚毅水平。本研究是为数不多探索将特定个人能力与坚毅（grit）相结合，以提升国际环境下知识工作者知识共享水平的研究之一。考虑到本研究评估过程的严谨性，上述研究结果可帮助高等教育机构依据知识工作者的知识共享适配能力，开展人员培训与选拔工作。