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Organizations can increase their competitive advantage by sharing knowledge. On the other hand, mechanisms are needed to protect this knowledge from leaking. Although there is a growing body research on hybrid and remote working, few studies have looked at the adoption of knowledge protection (KP) mechanisms in these work models. This study seeks to address this gap by analysing KP and knowledge sharing (KS) mechanisms in hybrid and remote work environments in information technology (IT) companies. The research method adopted was qualitative, exploratory, and cross-sectional, with data being collected through twenty semi-structured interviews conducted with professionals working in either hybrid or remote environments in IT companies. Regarding the interviewees' characteristics, the male-female ratio was 60% - 40%, with an average age of 36 years, average time in the same company of 4.5 years, and around 2.5 years in the same position. The content analysis technique was adopted in the data analysis. As there is no standardization of days and times in the hybrid system, KS is hampered by the lack of face-to-face interaction between employees. The KS mechanisms mentioned are training, formal meetings, mentoring, and content available on the organizational intranet or platforms, among others. Not all organizations see KP as being important, and some even allow employees to use their own equipment, which may be potentially damaging for the company. This article presents theoretical contributions, such as the identification of sharing and protection mechanisms used in the hybrid and remote environments, and practical contributions, such as a list of mechanisms that can be used by companies. This research also highlights opportunities for future research, such as the identification and analysis of mechanisms in other segments of the economy, as well as research on the role of organizational culture in protecting knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge management systems in the healthcare context are designed to facilitate knowledge flows and to integrate ways of capturing, leveraging, and sharing knowledge effectively. However, knowledge management implementation is often challenging and driven by the complex and multifaceted nature of healthcare knowledge, albeit related to high performance healthcare outcomes. The social nature of knowledge brings forth additional complexities and managerial challenges that can be related to individual undesirable knowledge behaviours - such as knowledge hiding and knowledge hoarding. Undesirable knowledge behaviours reflect human-based activities that jeopardize decision-making and performance by consciously and unconsciously hindering knowledge flows inside organizations. Such loss of important information can promote disagreements surrounding allocation of resources, contributing to dissonant goals and perspectives that shape task conflict. To that end, the purpose of our work is to understand the influencing role of knowledge management systems, knowledge hoarding, knowledge hiding and task conflict as contributors shaping quality of care in hospitals. We follow a quantitative approach, using partial least-squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationships between variables from our original empirical model. Research data comes after a survey conducted to 318 healthcare professionals working in Portuguese hospitals. Main findings show that knowledge management systems positively contribute to knowledge hoarding behaviour, while also presenting a positive influence on the quality of care provided by the hospital. Additionally, knowledge management systems are negatively related to the existence of task conflict between healthcare professionals. Conversely, results show that knowledge hiding is positively related to task conflict-being the latter a negative predictor of quality of care. Moreover, results show that knowledge hoarding positively affects quality of care. Our research offers an original contribution to healthcare management by providing insight on the influence of knowledge related systems and behaviours and their influence on the quality of care provided by healthcare professionals. Theoretical and practical contributions driving future action and research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge sharing represents a key process to create value in organizational environments that reflects a complex interplay of individual and organizational level factors. Driven and heavily reliant on individuals' willingness to share with others, effective knowledge sharing behavior is fostered through organizational characteristics that can promote prosocial behaviors, such as structured Human Resources Management Practices (HRMP). Nevertheless, knowledge sharing represents an extra-role voluntary behavior that depends on individual intention to engage in altruistic behavior to help others. While several studies assess the mediation role of such helping behaviors (HB) between organizational conditions that can foster knowledge sharing, few studies explore the complex combination between HRMP and individual HB leading to knowledge sharing in organizations. Similarly, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how HRMP and HB can contribute to the absence of knowledge sharing. This study addresses such gaps by examining the impact of HRMP and altruistic HB as conditions leading to knowledge sharing in the service industry (n=130) using a mixed-methods approach. We follow a quantitative design, using a partial-least squares (PLS) analysis to explore the relationship between HRMP, HB and knowledge sharing. Then, we follow a qualitative design, using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative approach (fsQCA) to identify complex configurations between HRMP, HB, age and education contributing to the presence and absence of knowledge sharing. Our quantitative findings find a positive relationship between both HRMP and HB leading to knowledge sharing behavior (KSB). Our qualitative findings present four alternative ways leading to knowledge sharing and corroborate the quantitative analysis. Additionally, qualitative results show four different configurations leading to the absence of knowledge sharing. We offer insight of the convergence of results, providing managerial approaches that can be used to promote KSB. Similarly, we recommend best practices to counter an absence of KSB given our methodological options and preventive practices inside the scope of Human Resources Management (HRM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic presented healthcare professionals with extraordinary challenges, prompting a critical examination of managerial practices that can enhance their well-being, particularly in the context of workplace happiness. Drawing on the foundations of Positive Psychology, this research delves into the psychosocial intricacies surrounding workplace happiness among healthcare professionals. We employ configurational analyses based on a set-theory rationale, exploring individual differences, social meaning (measured by the quality of social networks and competitive culture), and a sense of purpose (influenced by ethical leadership) as factors shaping workplace happiness. We follow a longitudinal approach, aligned with the WHO's pre- and post-lockdown recommendations, to address empirical gaps and contextual differences, using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Therefore, we empirically analyze configurations influencing workplace happiness among Portuguese healthcare professionals during the pandemic (n = 179) and in a subsequent post-pandemic follow-up (n = 153). The findings reveal variations in configurations leading to the presence or absence of workplace happiness among professionals during and after the pandemic, contributing to distinctions that underscore adaptive needs that can influence managerial intervention. We discuss practical implications for preventive measures, emphasizing the dynamic nature of managerial strategies during crises and contributing valuable insights for future crisis management in healthcare settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge sharing is a complex psychosocial phenomenon often considered the main component of knowledge management. The literature in the healthcare sector is shifting, adopting a people-centered approach while still struggling with old-fashioned managerial practices. Healthcare research centers are knowledge-intensive environments dealing with the fragmented nature of knowledge, therefore increasing the need of collaboration between scientific peers (Zhang et al., 2017). This study uses the social psychology approach of the Theory of Reasoned Action to examine the impact of psychosocial factors as antecedents of knowledge sharing between scientific peers in healthcare. We follow a qualitative design and use a sample of 150 healthcare researchers to study the relation among the perceptions of a social network, shared goals, social trust, and knowledge sharing. We use a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify configurations that lead to the intention to share knowledge and its absence and to the knowledge sharing behavior and its absence. The findings show evidence of the proposed antecedents of the intention to share knowledge and their effect on knowledge sharing. Additionally, we offer and discuss configurations of causal conditions leading to the presence or absence of the intention to share knowledge and the knowledge sharing behavior considering tacit and explicit knowledge separately, aiming for a larger framework whose discussion can provide more insight of the phenomenon in the deployment of knowledge management practices. The theoretical contribution of this work is possible due to the methods used that adds to the literature in a unique and original way only possible by using fsQCA, since traditional quantitative statistical methods only offer a single estimated solution for each dependent variable and do not estimate solutions for the absence of variables (Rihoux and Ragin, 2009). The small sample size is considered as a limitation of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding quality of care in the current healthcare context is a complex endeavor. Recent conceptual and empirical literature in healthcare management discusses challenges pertaining to quality of care, stressing the importance of individual professional input as effective predictors of such healthcare outcome. Nevertheless, evidence suggests a lack of input from several healthcare professional groups, such as nurses, being of importance to improve quality of care in the direct aftermath of the global pandemic. The goal of this paper is to study the role of the pervasive competitive culture found in healthcare and of knowledge management systems (as organizational factors of influence), and the contribution of workplace happiness (as an individual level of influence) in their contribution to quality of care in hospitals. We use a mixed-methods approach, combining a partial least-squares structural equation model (SEM-PLS) and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to study the linear and non-linear complexity between the variables. Data from the study comes after a survey conducted to 127 practicing nurses working in Portuguese hospitals. Quantitative results suggest a positive relationship between workplace happiness and quality of care. Similarly, findings also show that knowledge management systems positively influence quality of care. Qualitative findings, show a single complex configuration combining that contributes to top quality of care. On the other hand, results also present two complex configurations contributing to the lack of quality of care. Our work offers an original insight to healthcare managerial practice by providing an overview of both individual and combined organizational influences promoting quality of care. This research provides and discusses theoretical contributions driving future research, while acknowledging the study's limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine the determinants of cash holding on Portuguese start-ups. We use a mandatory database that combines firm-level financial data with founder's characteristics, for the period between 2006 and 2009. Unlike previous studies, we examine start-ups cash decisions on their first year and evaluate which founders' educational and demographic characteristics are more likely to be associated with cash holdings. We find that start-ups' cash holding levels are positively affected by the short and long-term debt and founder's characteristics, and negatively affected by investment opportunities, size, liquid assets substitutes and founder's educational levels . Overall, we can conclude that the Trade-off and the Pecking Order Theories are the ones that play the most important role in explaining the determinants of Portuguese firm's cash holding levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]