Research on the influencing factors of knowledge transfer among construction workers based on social cognitive theory

Purpose This paper aims to employ social cognitive theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework to investigate the influencing factors affecting the knowledge transfer effectiveness of construction workers in China. The mediating role of their knowledge transfer willingness is also assessed. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire on knowledge transfer among Chinese construction workers is designed and subsequently analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM), with a total sample of 288 construction workers. Findings The SEM results show that the knowledge self-efficiency, blood and geographic relationships, and trust relationship promote knowledge transfer willingness and positively influence the knowledge transfer effectiveness of construction workers. However, the effect of organizational culture on knowledge transfer willingness and effectiveness is nonsignificant. Practical implications The results are conducive to managers and governments formulating strategies to optimize the learning mechanism of construction workers and facilitate their obtaining of resources from the project, thus easing skill shortages and promoting the transformation of construction workers into industrial workers. Originality/value This paper innovatively proposes blood and geographic relationships as research variables, expanding their scope. Furthermore, SCT is applied to enable future research to better understand individual knowledge transfer behavior from both personal and environmental perspectives.