The Effect of Person-Team Conscientiousness Fit on Knowledge Sharing: The Moderating Role of Internal Team Environment

Drawing on studies of person-team fit and theory of team-member exchange, we examined the effect of fit versus misfit between a team member’s conscientiousness and his/her team’s composition of conscientiousness on the member’s knowledge sharing. We hypothesized that person-team conscientiousness fit would lead to more knowledge sharing because a member who fits his/her team with respect to conscientiousness tends to have similar achievement striving with the team and low exchange cost. Using the method of polynomial regression in two studies in different regions and research settings, we obtained consistent results that person-team conscientiousness fit is positively associated with a team member’s knowledge sharing. We further found that internal team environment moderates the relationship between person-team conscientiousness fit and knowledge sharing such that it makes the relationship weaker. Our study demonstrated that to better understand the effect of personality on knowledge sharing in teams, it is beneficial to simultaneously consider the interplay among member personality, team personality, and team contexts.