Rewards and knowledge sharing in the CoPS development context: the moderating role of transformational leadership

Purpose Knowledge sharing (KS) among employees is critical to successfully developing complex products and systems (CoPS) but is often hampered by employees' low motivations. The purpose of this study is to investigate how extrinsic and intrinsic rewards influence employees' explicit knowledge sharing (EKS) and tacit knowledge sharing (TKS) in the CoPS development context. This study also examines the moderating effects of transformational leadership on the relationships between two types of rewards and two types of KS. Design/methodology/approach This study builds a research model based on expectancy value theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs. To test hypotheses, the authors surveyed 257 employees in CoPS projects and analyzed data with the partial least squares structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear modeling. Findings The results of this study demonstrate that extrinsic rewards exert no effect on EKS but negatively affect TKS, while intrinsic rewards significantly promote both EKS and TKS. Moreover, transformational leadership positively moderates the abovementioned relationships. Originality/value This study extends the research scenario of KS motivations and responds to the call for shedding light on contextual factors influencing KS. This study also offers a comprehensive theoretical perspective to understand KS motivations. Practically, this study provides managers with suggestions about how to use different rewards to encourage different KS practices.