Knowledge sharing, shared leadership and innovative behaviour: a cross-level analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of knowledge sharing among team members on the development of shared leadership and innovative behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 64 management teams and 427 individuals working in 26 different hotels in the hospitality industry in Taiwan.

Findings

The results show that knowledge sharing has both direct and indirect effects on the development of shared leadership and individual innovative behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

Results suggest that knowledge sharing supports the occurrence of shared leadership, leading to an increase in innovative behaviour. The authors infer from the findings that encouraging a culture of knowledge sharing can have a positive impact on the creativity of teams.

Originality/value

This study advances knowledge of shared leadership as a mediator using a multilevel approach to test antecedents of innovative behaviour in the Taiwan hotel industry.