Perceived training opportunities and knowledge sharing: the case of the United Arab Emirates

Purpose The authors seek to explore the interplay between perceived training opportunities (PTOs) and knowledge sharing in the context of the emerging economic setting of the United Arab Emirates. The authors also examined the moderating role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and engagement in social interaction on the relationship between PTOs and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a survey method to collect the data and tested the proposed hypotheses by using the partial structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. Data is based on 815 responses across all sectors in the country context of the UAE. Findings The study findings indicate that PTOs are positively related to knowledge sharing. Notably, the results show that the proposed relationship between PTOs and knowledge sharing is negatively and significantly moderated by intrinsic motivation. Moreover, the moderating roles of extrinsic motivation and engagement in social interaction were insignificant. Originality/value At a theoretical level, this article provides an individual-level analysis, which indicates that PTOs pave the way for intraorganizational knowledge sharing; hence, they offer insights into the mechanisms in which PTOs impact on knowledge sharing. This article also contributes to our general understanding on human resource management (HRM) practices and knowledge sharing in the context of the emerging economy of the UAE; the latter has a number of implications for both theory and practice as delineated in this study.