Employee participation in decision making, psychological ownership and knowledge sharing: Mediating role of organizational commitment

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of employee participation in decision making (EPDM) on employees’ positive cognition and attitudes which can lead to their knowledge-sharing behaviour. Consistent with the philanthropic and justice principles of Confucianism, such participation emphasizes the sharing of power with employees, which can satisfy employees’ humanistic needs, give employees a fundamental right to extend a degree of control and psychologically experience ownership of the organization. Employees who perceive they have ownership of the organization regard themselves as important organizational members and then commit to the organization. Knowledge-sharing behaviour contributes to the creation and utilization of knowledge; therefore, high-tech organizations always carefully negotiate with internal power relations in order to make tacit knowledge shared and produce innovation. Psychological ownership makes employees produce organizational commitment which can evoke altruistic spirit, contributing to knowledge-sharing behaviour. However, researchers have not yet investigated the relationships among EPDM, psychological ownership, organizational commitment, and knowledge-sharing behaviour, revealing an important research gap. Statistical analysis of 260 samples involving high technical and knowledge-intensive companies in Taiwan was undertaken. Theory-driven approach and structural equation modeling were the main methodologies employed. Results showed that employee participation in decision making was a positive association with psychological ownership. Psychological ownership was positively related to organizational commitment. A positive relationship existed between organizational commitment and knowledge sharing. Organizational commitment mediated the relationship between psychological ownership and knowledge-sharing behaviour. Important implications for academics and practitioners were discussed.