ABSTRACT

Older employees’ knowledge sharing with younger colleagues is pivotal for organizational knowledge retention. We developed a social-cognitive internalization model that explains why older employees’ knowledge sharing with younger colleagues is often inhibited. Specifically, we focused on perceived age discrimination at work as a threat to older employees’ perceptions of their job-related capabilities (i.e., occupational self-efficacy), which in turn reduces older employees’ knowledge sharing with younger colleagues. Study 1, a field study with 100 age-diverse employee dyads provided support for our framework. Older employees who perceived age discrimination showed lower occupational self-efficacy, which predicted less knowledge sharing with younger colleagues. To help organizations address this challenge, we extended our theorizing by considering organizational context and hypothesized supportive effects of the availability of age-specific HR practices (i.e., HR development and HR accommodation activities). We replicated the first study’s findings in Study 2 using a three-wave survey with 472 older employees. Additionally, we found that HR accommodation practices strengthened the positive relation between occupational self-efficacy and knowledge sharing. Hence, HR accommodation practices constitute a double-edged sword: They helped older employees with higher occupational self-efficacy but impair knowledge sharing by older employees with lower occupational self-efficacy resulting from perceived age discrimination.

摘要

老员工与年轻同事的知识共享对于组织知识保留至关重要。我们开发了一种社会认知的内部化模型，该模型解释了为什么通常会抑制年长员工与年轻同事之间的知识共享。具体来说，我们将注意力集中在工作中的年龄歧视上，这是对年长员工对其与工作相关的能力（即职业自我效能感）的感知的威胁，这反过来又减少了年长员工与年轻同事的知识共享。研究1，一项包含100个不同年龄的员工dyad的实地研究为我们的框架提供了支持。意识到年龄歧视的老员工表现出较低的职业自我效能感，这预示着与年轻同事的知识共享将减少。为了帮助组织应对这一挑战，我们通过考虑组织环境和特定年龄的人力资源实践（即人力资源开发和人力资源住宿活动）的假设支持作用来扩展我们的理论。我们使用对472名老年员工的三波调查，在研究2中复制了第一项研究的发现。此外，我们发现人力资源管理实践加强了职业自我效能与知识共享之间的积极关系。因此，人力资源住所实践是一把双刃剑：它们帮助具有较高职业自我效能感的老年雇员，但会损害由于感知年龄歧视而导致具有较低职业自我效能感的老年雇员的知识共享。人力资源开发和人力资源住宿活动）。我们使用对472名老年员工的三波调查，在研究2中复制了第一项研究的发现。此外，我们发现人力资源管理实践加强了职业自我效能与知识共享之间的积极关系。因此，人力资源住所实践是一把双刃剑：它们帮助具有较高职业自我效能感的老年雇员，但会损害由于感知年龄歧视而导致具有较低职业自我效能感的老年雇员的知识共享。人力资源开发和人力资源住宿活动）。我们使用对472名老年员工的三波调查，在研究2中复制了第一项研究的发现。此外，我们发现人力资源管理实践加强了职业自我效能与知识共享之间的积极关系。因此，人力资源住所实践是一把双刃剑：它们帮助具有较高职业自我效能感的老年雇员，但会损害由于感知年龄歧视而导致具有较低职业自我效能感的老年雇员的知识共享。