A multidimensional approach to making sense of COVID-19 pandemic-induced uncertainty: From interpreting to knowledge-sharing among academics

Abstract

This study investigates an exploratory uncertainty-knowledge sharing model contextualized in terms of uncertainty induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and based on the integrative framework of contingency theory and models of interpretation. The study attempts to explain the multidimensionality of and relationships between perceived environmental uncertainty types and knowledge-sharing subprocesses. The presumptive connections between the variables are examined through an empirical study conducted with 224 academics from a large university in the Philippines. The results confirm the multidimensionality of uncertainty induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and indicate that certain types of uncertainty drive knowledge-donating and knowledge-collecting behaviors within a knowledge-intensive organization. The study offers theoretical and practical implications for reflective decision-making in critical times and reciprocal intra-organizational knowledge flows.