Innovation in times of pandemic: The moderating effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship between COVID‐19‐induced job stress and employee innovation

Montani, Francesco; Staglianò, Raffaele

The goal of this study is to examine knowledge sharing as a boundary condition under which employee innovation can be enhanced in response to the job stress induced by the COVID‐19 pandemic. We argue that when stressed employees share knowledge, they can expand their knowledge base and thereby enhance their innovative potential. Consistent with our hypothesis, multiple regression analysis results based on a sample of 61 R&D employees of UK and US technology‐based firms show that knowledge sharing moderated the relationship between COVID‐19‐induced job stress and employee innovation, such that the relationship was negative when knowledge sharing was lower but became positive when knowledge sharing was higher. These findings highlight the importance of investing in knowledge‐based resources to promote innovation behavior at work during a pandemic.