Intrinsically motivating employees’ online knowledge sharing: Understanding the effects of job design

•Job characteristics influence intrinsic motivation through affective commitment.•Skill variety has an n-shaped curvilinear effect.•Job autonomy, task feedback, and task significance have a positive linear effect.•Managers can intrinsically motivate employees’ knowledge sharing through job design.

The knowledge management literature emphasizes intrinsic motivation in promoting employees’ knowledge sharing due to its consistently positive and lasting effect. Yet, how intrinsic motivation to share knowledge can be nurtured remains elusive and it is often left to random development. This study examines how job design, which determines the conditions in which employees develop and function, influences their intrinsic motivation to share knowledge. A model that specifies the effect of different job design characteristics and clarifies the underlying mechanism through which job design affects intrinsic motivation is developed. The model is assessed with data collected in a survey of 255 employees. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.