The Research Of Enterprise Interpersonal Trust And Its Impact On Knowledge Sharing In Chinese Culture Environment

From 1950s researchers of various fields put their light on trust. Researchers of Sociology, Psychology, Management, etc. research trust from different perspective. For profoundly and effectively understand trust, scholars classify trust. In different taxonomies, dichotomy and trichotomy is more popular. Dichotomy divides trust into two types including cognitive-trust and affective-trust. Trichotomy divides trust into three types including deterrence-based trust, knowledge-based trust and identification-based trust. All these results are based on west culture. It exists difference between Chinese and west culture. Chinese culture, which develops from Confucian culture, presents the characteristics of collectivism and large power distance. Family and Guanxi are the nuclear and base of social network. Fei notes that there exists a Pattern of Difference Sequence in Chinese social network. Chinese scholars have researched interpersonal trust in Chinese background. In the researches scholars found that Chinese people are divided into ourselves and outsiders defending on guanxi. People intend to trust ourselves more and trust outsider less. However, the researches about this field in China are limited and less systemic. Based on reviewing literature, an exploring research is conducted, and further, the impact of trust on knowledge sharing is discussed in this dissertation.Based on the theory of Pattern of Difference Sequence, Hofstede's National Culture Model and LMX, research hypotheses are proposed. 730 knowledge workers are investigated through questionnaire. Some hypotheses are supported by research date. From results some interesting conclusions are drown.1) In Chinese culture background trichotomy is more suitable for classifying interpersonal trust in organization. Based on this taxonomy, interpersonal trust is divided into three types, including calculation-based trust, knowledge-based trust and guanxi-based trust. Competence, fairness, available, openness and promise fulfillment are attributed to calculation-based trust, discreetness, consistence, integrity, loyalty and acceptable are attributed to knowledge-based trust, guanxi-base trust, which is the most Sinitic, is a type of trust among ourselves or in-groupers. Guanxi and affection have significant correlation to this type of trust.2) In different orientation of interpersonal relationship, three-type trust show different traits. In the direction of supervisor's trust to subordinates, availability can explain the most part of variance of calculation-based trust, discreetness can explain the most part of variance of knowledge-based trust and affection can explain the most part of variance of guanxi-based trust. In the direction of subordinate's trust to supervisor, fairness can explain the most part of variance of calculation-based trust, integrity can explain the most part of variance of knowledge-based trust and guanxi can explain the most part of variance of guanxi-based trust.3) In different type of enterprises, three-type trust presents different level. Calculation-based trust level in private enterprises is significantly higher than that in state-owned enterprises. The levels of knowledge-based trust and guanxi-based trust in state-owned enterprises are significantly higher than those in private enterprises. The results show that in Chinese culture background calculation-based and guanxi-based trust have leading impacts. Because in private enterprises, which market degree high, calculation-based trust is more popular, while in state-owned enterprises, which market degree low, guanxi-based trust is more popular.4) Different types of trust have different impacts on knowledge sharing of knowledge workers. Calculation-based and knowledge-based trust has more significant impact on tacit knowledge sharing than the explicit. Guanxi-based trust has significant impact just on tacit knowledge sharing. The results also show that formal control and perceived organizational support have significant impact on both interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing, but mediating effect of trust is not significant. It is obvious that although the importance of trust has accepted by people, most enterprises still affect employees through control and organizational support. The effect of trust in management is not significant.The conclusions of this dissertation have some theoretical contribution and also have practical significance. Based on research conclusions some managing advises are proposed. The research limitations are also discussed.