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The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and to what extent knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL) is associated with knowledge sharing (KS) in an organization as well as the dimensions of this leadership style.

Opinion-based questionnaires were applied in the study. A principal axis factor analysis was conducted to find the main factors in KOL (n=236). The relationship between KS and KOL was tested with Pearson’s correlation coefficient method.

The findings support the importance of high-quality leader–member exchange for KS because KOL had a strong significant positive association with the extent of KS in the organization (n=96, r=0.521). The principal axis factor suggested three factors, all of which were moderately significantly related to KS: the perceived support from the superior, enough time for KS and information flow from the superior.

The research design in this study was cross-sectional. Thus, the interpretations of the cause–effect relationship among the variables could not be determined. Furthermore, the findings should be confirmed using a larger sample.

The study indicates that if innovativeness and the use of human capital are important for an organization’s competitive ability, it is vital to train managers to be able to apply KOL.

Few studies have addressed the relationship between leadership and KS. Hence, this study contributes to a better understanding of the relation between KS and KOL style. Additionally, KOL is probably a multidimensional construct, but little empirical work has been done to explore it.

Knowledge sharing becomes crucial in today’s competitive world to foster organizational performance. This paper aims to explore which employee characteristics facilitate knowledge sharing in the organizations and to examine the dimensions of these characteristics.

Opinion-based questionnaires among employees in Czech companies were applied. The research design in this study was cross-sectional. The hypotheses were tested by Pearson’s correlations and regression analyses.

The findings support the idea that specific individual employee characteristics increase knowledge sharing in the organization. Four categories of potentially appropriate employee individual characteristics were suggested: social and communication skills; positive work feelings; competences for problem-solving; and employee’s self-efficacy. However, only employee’s positive work feelings and self-efficacy significantly predicted the extent of knowledge sharing in the organization.

The findings offer a basis for future research. The results of the study can be used in recruiting new employees and managerial decision-making. The recruitment methods and the selection methods deployed should enable the firm to attract those whose values are in harmony with the organization’s values. Managers should build a work environment that promotes greater and more trusting ties among employees via organizing social activities for employees, a supervisor’s acceptance of an employee’s autonomy and responsibility and increasing employees’ confidence in their abilities.

This is one of the first studies to investigate dimensions of employee knowledge-oriented characteristics. It supports the idea that some individual employee characteristics boost spontaneous knowledge sharing behaviour.