Mind the gap: Intended versus perceived human resource practices and knowledge sharing of line managers and employees

Understanding how human resource (HR) management can stimulate knowledge sharing among employees has received considerable attention recently. However, the extant research has focused predominantly on which HR practices are used and has paid little attention to how they are implemented. Building on both perspectives, we explore the nature of the gaps between intended and perceived HR practices and the effects of these gaps on knowledge-sharing behaviours. Based on a survey of 198 respondents from a high-tech company, we found that the gaps between intended and perceived HR practices (a) can be multidirectional, that is, both underestimation and overestimation of HR practices exist; (b) differ in their magnitude between line managers and employees; and (c) have varied effects on knowledge-sharing behaviours-they can be positive, negative or have no impact, and these effects differ between line managers and employees. We discuss a range of conceptual, methodological and practice implications of these findings.