Team climate and knowledge management in knowledge-intensive teams: Does team empowerment matter? Evidence from R&D teams

Purpose– Based on the Job-demands resources (JD-R) model and the Self Determination Theory (SDT), this research aims to explore team empowerment (TEMP) as a mediating mechanism through which team climate (TC) marked by innovativeness, cohesion, and trust and knowledge management (KM) in teams. 

Design/methodology/approach– Using a convenience sampling method, data were gathered from 246 employees of Tunisian knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs) and involved within 69 R&D teams. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling approach through SMART PLS 3.2 software was used to evaluate the constructs’ psychometric properties and hypotheses. The mediating effect in the model was evaluated through the non-parametric bootstrapping method.

Findings– Results highlight that TC marked by innovativeness, cohesion, and trust represents a key team contextual antecedent promoting TEMP and KM in teams. In turn, TEMP, as a critical intrinsic task motivation factor, is revealed as a driver of KM practices. This research demonstrates that TEMP partially mediates the relationship between TC and KM in teams. 

Originality/value– This study pioneers the examination of TEMP’s mediating role between a TC marked by innovativeness, trust, and cohesion and KM. By applying insights from the JD-R model and SDT to team-level dynamics, it uniquely positions TEMP as an intrinsic motivational factor explaining the mechanism through which the contextual resources provided by a supportive TC promote KM practices. It provides practical insights for KIFs’ managers through highlighting how intrinsically motivated teams of knowledge workers, empowered by a cohesive, innovative, and trust-based TC, can effectively navigate the challenges inherent in knowledge-intensive teamwork, leading to enhanced KM practices.