HRM Practices and Knowledge Sharing Behaviour: Lessons from Pakistani Knowledge Intensive Firms

This chapter examines the empirical effect of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices on employees’ knowledge-sharing behaviour in Pakistan. A research model is developed for this chapter and hypotheses are formulated. The research sample is comprised of 390 respondents from 19 Knowledge Intensive Firms (KIFs) in Pakistan. The authors have employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques to test the proposed hypotheses. The results suggest that collaborative HRM practices have a positive effect on employees’ knowledge sharing behaviour. Surprisingly, they find that employees’ knowledge-sharing behaviour is independent of reward systems and employee recognition. This chapter is entirely based on employees’ perceptions; therefore, the results of this study are from an employee’s perspective, rather than from a management perspective. Therefore, the chapter makes a valuable contribution, given the lack of empirical studies focusing on the South East Asian region. This study is beneficial for researchers, practitioners, and those interested in organisational structure and relationships across organisations in the knowledge context. Salman Iqbal University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Paul Toulson Massey University – Manawatu, New Zealand David Tweed Massey University – Manawatu, New Zealand