Knowledge Sharing, Hypercompetitiveness, and Contextual Factors: Investigating a Three-Way Effect

Recognizing the significance of employees’ hypercompetitiveness and knowledge sharing in today’s challenging global economy, this study addressed when hypercompetitive employees least share their knowledge. On the basis of trait activation theory, this research identified social and task-related situational factors that moderate the impact of hypercompetitiveness on knowledge sharing—organizational politics and job control. Our results from a sample of 191 supervisor-subordinate dyads from South Korea indicated that the negative relationship between hypercompetitiveness and knowledge sharing becomes strongest under uncertain work situations characterized by high organizational politics and low job control. The implications and limitations of this research are discussed.