The Mediate Effect of Trust on Organizational Online Knowledge Sharing: an Empirical Study

This study proposes a conceptual structural equation model to investigate the relationships among knowledge management system quality, employee computer attitude, trust at workplace and online knowledge sharing. We demonstrate the direct and indirect effect of trust on online knowledge sharing from the perspectives of system quality and computer attitude. An empirical study is conducted in three technological companies (n = 451) in Taiwan and the collected survey data are used to test the relationships among the four dimensions expressed in the proposed structural equation model. The results show that trust at workplace has a mediating effect on online knowledge sharing within organizations. It is also discovered that there is significant correlation between IT quality, employees’ computer attitude and online trust at workplace. The conceptual model provides useful information for managers to enhance knowledge sharing through the promotion of trust at workplaces.