Social bonding and the multi-professional service teams: a cross-level test of team social capital influence on knowledge sharing

Multi-professional service teams might isolate from the organisation and inhibit knowledge sharing with others. Professional organisations are thus stimulating their teams to bond more closely with other units, hoping this would facilitate knowledge sharing. Yet, studies on social bonding suggest this could actually deter from knowledge sharing. Our study investigates this further asking: do employees display greater intention to share knowledge when their teams possess greater structural, relational and cognitive social capital? Our cross-level study, grounded on a sample of 226 employees (39 teams in four Hospice & Palliative Care Organisations), shows that individuals embedded in teams with greater social capital are indeed more motivated to share knowledge; and that each form of social bonding—increasing frequency of interactions, trust and mutual support, and similarity of goals/meanings—stimulates different mechanisms of knowledge sharing (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control).