From Strengths Mindset to Knowledge Sharing: Roles of Self-Efficacy and Strengths-based Human Resource System

We examine how employees’ strengths mindset influences their knowledge-sharing behavior, and how this influence is mediated by self-efficacy and moderated by their perception of a strengths-based human resource (HR) system. We conducted two field studies with a three-wave research design. Study 1 involved a sample of 187 employees from an electronic information research institute in China. We found that a strengths mindset was positively related to knowledge sharing, with self-efficacy acting as a mediating process mechanism. Study 2 collected data from 544 supervisor-subordinate dyads across three companies in China. Consistent with Study 1, Study 2 also demonstrated the positive relationship between strengths mindset and knowledge sharing, with self-efficacy mediating this relationship, even after controlling for positive affect as an alternative process mechanism. Moreover, we found that perceived strengths-based HR system accentuated the indirect relationship between strengths mindset and knowledge sharing through self-efficacy. This study advances the literature on knowledge sharing, mindset, and positive organizational behavior, providing new insights into the antecedents and boundary conditions of knowledge sharing in organizations.