Registered Nurses (RNs)' knowledge sharing and decision-making: the mediating role of organizational trust

Abstract

Aim: This study study aimed to investigate the effects of explicit and tacit knowledge sharing on clinical decision-making abilities and the mediating role of trust among registered nurses at Korean hospitals.

Background: Decision-making abilities comprise a key area of nursing practice and link nurses' perceptions with behaviours.

Introduction: Tacit knowledge is embedded within an individual and cannot be expressed or transmitted to other people in a specific form. Over time, new nurses gradually gain experience and tacit knowledge and become experts. Trust, an organizational characteristic, may serve as a potential mediator in the association between knowledge sharing and decision-making abilities among nurses. However, few studies have investigated the mediatory role of trust in this association.

Method: The data were collected from 210 nurses selected via random sampling. The research instrument in the model included Knowledge-Sharing Behavior, Trust, and Clinical Decision-Making in Nursing Scale. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the collected data.

Findings: The study findings showed that explicit knowledge sharing directly affects decision-making abilities, whereas tacit knowledge sharing is only associated with decision-making abilities when trust plays a mediating role.

Discussion: A higher level of organizational trust can improve clinical decision-making abilities via tacit knowledge sharing.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that unlike explicit knowledge, which is shared more easily, tacit knowledge sharing does not directly lead to clinical decision-making abilities. A higher level of organizational trust leads to a stronger beneficial effect of tacit knowledge sharing on clinical decision-making abilities.

Implications for nursing and health policy: These findings concerning the mediatory role of trust on the association between knowledge sharing and clinical decision-making abilities provide new knowledge that will allow nurses, managers, and researchers to support the clinical decision-making abilities of nurses.

Keywords: Capacity Building; Clinical Decision-Making; Interpersonal; Organisational Behaviour Nursing.