A quasi‐experimental examination of knowledge‐sharing interventions enhancing service performance: The roles of time, occupational identity, and image

A significant amount of research has examined the antecedents and processes responsible for driving employee knowledge-sharing behaviors. Integrating information-processing theory and the identity-based motivation model, we develop a contingency model whereby knowledge sharing does not always result in desirable outcomes, depending on time and individuals' motivation to learn and acquire useful information for performance improvement. Applying a longitudinal and quasi-experimental design in a unique service context, we examine when knowledge-sharing interventions can help employees improve service performance. Specifically, we explore the roles of time and employee occupational identity and image in helping employees leverage knowledge-sharing activities to create superior customer service. Our results suggest that the benefits of knowledge sharing on both proximal (i.e., employee-perceived customer gratitude) and distal service performance (i.e., customer-rated evaluation) are contingent on time and employee-perceived occupational image, such that the value of knowledge sharing requires time (i.e., a cumulative effect) and employees' motivation to process and absorb the shared information and to eventually leverage knowledge-sharing activities to improve service performance.