Influence of generational diversity on knowledge sharing and group performance

Abstract

newline With the changing demographic profile within organizations, the role of generational diversity on performance is becoming an important area of study among human resource professionals and scholars. There has been considerable research on several forms of diversity such as gender, ethnicity, and race and their work-related consequences, studies related to generational diversity and its influence on knowledge sharing and group performance are scanty. In this direction, the present study aims to investigate the influence of generational diversity on knowledge sharing behaviors of employees and group performance. The study also explores the moderating effects of intergenerational climate, boundary-spanning leadership, and respect. The present study is the first of its kind to explore these relationships to the best of the researcher s knowledge. Six-hundred and thirty-five responses were collected from the public-sector and private-sector bank employees in Hyderabad using a cross-sectional survey. For hypotheses testing, partial least square structural equation modeling was used because it takes care of both formative and reflective indicators and simultaneously test the relationships among independent variables, dependent variables, and moderating variables reducing endogeneity issues. The findings of the study revealed that generational diversity negatively influences knowledge sharing among employees. The results also highlighted the important role of intergenerational climate and boundary-spanning leadership as moderators in mitigating the negative influence that generational diversity has on knowledge sharing. The present study adds to the extant literature on generational differences and generational diversity by establishing the link between generational diversity, knowledge sharing, and group (branch) performance. Further, the present study would help human resource and line managers in identifying the facilitators for knowledge sharing and performance in a generationally diverse organizational