The Mediating Effect of Trust on the Relation between Interpersonal Communication and Tacit Knowledge Sharing

Nowadays, knowledge is increasingly a resource that determines a company’s competitive advantage. Managers recognize many benefits of knowledge sharing and companies are increasingly seeking to build a culture of knowledge sharing. However, sharing tacit knowledge is still a challenge. Interpersonal communication seems to be an indispensable way to share knowledge effectively, especially tacit knowledge. Furthermore, trust can be a factor supporting the discovery of ’layers of knowledge’ by employees according to the onion model. This article aims to explore the role of direct communication in the sharing of tacit knowledge in the context of mutual interpersonal trust. The results of the study attempt to answer the question of how to improve the sharing of tacit knowledge in an organization. The verification of hypotheses was carried out based on a quantitative survey on a sample of 175 employees in the telecommunications sector in Poland. Based on a bootstrapped mediation model, a statistical analysis of the hypothesized relationship was conducted. The results indicate that interpersonal communication is crucial in enabling the sharing of tacit knowledge. Furthermore, the results confirm the important role of interpersonal trust as a mediator in such a relationship. To increase the sharing of tacit knowledge, organizations should create a climate that supports direct communication. Furthermore, creating an environment based on trust helps to encourage employees to increase tacit knowledgesharing behaviour. Using Social Exchange Theory, this study shows the importance of trust-based resources such as tacit knowledge sharing in networks.