• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.147-162
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• 2016

Knowledge sharing has many benefits; however, employees are generally reluctant to share their knowledge with co-workers. This reluctance can be attributed to the facts that sharing knowledge involves the threat of losing personal competitiveness and the codification of knowledge for sharing requires additional effort. This study explains why employees engage in knowledge sharing despite the threat and cost of sharing knowledge. Specifically, it examines the effects of the quality of co-worker exchange (CWX) on knowledge sharing and the moderating effect of learning goal orientation on the relationship between CWX and knowledge sharing. Data from 186 individuals indicate that there is a positive relationship between CWX and knowledge sharing, and that this relationship is strengthened when learning goal orientation is low rather than when it is high. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.