Fostering knowledge sharing behaviours through ethical leadership practice: the mediating roles of disclosure-based trust and reliance-based trust in leadership

This paper aims to clarify the influences of ethical leadership (EL) and specific aspects of trust in leadership on knowledge collecting and knowledge donating. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to test the degree of influence of EL and employee trust on knowledge sharing (KS) behaviours using data collected from 355 participants at 56 Chinese firms. The results show that aspects of trust in leadership plays mediating roles in the relationship between EL and KS behaviours. EL has greater effects on knowledge donating, whereas aspects of trust in leadership have greater effects on knowledge collecting. The findings support theoretical initiatives on organisational behaviour and knowledge management based on the use of a moral lens to inspect the impact of EL on employee trust in leadership and KS behaviours. The paper provides a deeper understanding of the factors necessary to encourage and promote the sharing of knowledge and expertise by employees.