The effect of subjective age on knowledge sharing in the public sector

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether subjective age – i.e., how old or young individuals experience themselves to be – affects explicit and tacit knowledge sharing (KS) in the public sector. Moreover, the study explores the moderating effect of three socio-organisational factors, namely KS attitude, co-workers age similarity and organisational structure, on the relationship between subjective age and KS. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from employees working in public (n=144) and hybrid (n=263) Italian organisations. Hierarchical linear multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the multivariate effects on explicit and tacit KS. Findings Employees who perceive themselves to be older than they actually are experience lower explicit KS in the public sector. In addition, the moderating effect of age similarity and organisational structure on the relationship between subjective age and tacit KS was found to be significant. Practical implications This study may help managers and policy makers to manage age-diverse workforce operating in highly structured and formalised organisations and to develop HR programmes aimed at fostering KS. Originality/value This is the first study linking subjective age to KS in the public sector. This is an extremely interesting context due to the high average age and oldest workforce composition. In this way, the paper extends the literature on subjective age and work-related outcomes and may potentially contribute to the debate regarding KS practices in public organisations.