Study on the influence mechanism of employees’ knowledge-sharing behaviour in temporary teams: a case study of Colorful Guizhou Airlines Co., Ltd.

Abstract

To a certain extent, enterprise competition is essentially a competition in organisational knowledge and capabilities. The acquisition, sharing, and dissemination of knowledge play a crucial role in enhancing enterprise’s competitiveness. In the airline industry, cabin crew are the primary staff with whom passengers interact directly. Therefore, knowledge and skills related to aviation safety and service are critically important for cabin crew.

This research project arises from real enterprise operations and aims to address practical workplace problems. Within an organisational context, this study explores the mechanisms and patterns influencing knowledge sharing among temporary cabin crew teams in airlines. The study applies and tests existing research findings on knowledge sharing, and examines the associations between variables typical of temporary teams—such as responsibility, achievement orientation, organisational climate, member familiarity, risk perception, and the quality of pre-flight preparation interaction, and knowledge sharing behaviour. Taking Colorful Guizhou Airlines Co., Ltd. as a case study, this research starts from real-world issues, systematically analyzes the characteristics and patterns associated with factors of knowledge sharing in cabin crew teams, and proposes targeted improvement strategies and implications.

This study employed a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) to comprehensively examine the perceptions, intentions, and influencing factors of employees in temporary teams. In the first stage, qualitative methods were used to conduct interviews with cabin crew members and aviation security officers. Through these interviews, the study refined and summarized participants’ perceptions of the intentions, behaviours, and influencing factors of knowledge sharing in temporary teams were refined and summarized. All participants stated that a sense of responsibility and personal achievement orientation were the main drivers of knowledge sharing, which aligns with most existing research findings. They also believed that risk-related concerns or constraints, such as time pressure and workload, as well as the organisational fairness atmosphere, associate with the depth and frequency of knowledge sharing. However, no consensus was reached on whether member familiarity, technical skill level, and the quality of pre-preparation interaction affected knowledge sharing behaviour.

In the second stage of the research project, a theoretical model of knowledge sharing in temporary teams was empirically tested through model derivation, hypothesis formulation, and validation. Based on personality trait theory, Trait Activation Theory (TAT), Situational Strength Theory (SST), and interview results, hypotheses were proposed regarding structural factors and pre-preparation quality factors that associate with knowledge sharing in temporary teams. Questionnaire-based model analysis empirically demonstrates that Risk Perception (RP) negatively moderates the positive relationship between Responsibility (RS) and Knowledge Sharing (KS). The moderating effect of Member Familiarity (FA) on the relationship between responsibility and knowledge sharing was statistically insignificant. In addition, Organisational Fairness Atmosphere (OF) negatively moderates the positive relationship between Achievement Orientation (AO) and Knowledge Sharing (KS). Moreover, no significant evidence supported that interaction level, emotional state, or entropy during pre-flight preparation, or team member familiarity, had any moderating effect on Knowledge Sharing (KS). Through interviews and survey data, this study validated the applicability of relevant theories to the case enterprise and the influencing mechanisms and factors were further refined.

Based on the research conducted, this study explored feasible approaches to improve knowledge sharing behaviour in temporary teams. Corresponding strategies were proposed to improve employees’ attitudes, enhance their knowledge sharing ability, and foster a learning-oriented environment. The findings indicate that employees’ organisational citizenship behaviour has improved, and satisfactory results have been attained. These improvements have played a positive role in resource management, organisational knowledge development, and the creation of a learning organisation.