Linking personal interaction, co-worker support and communities of practice with goal priority: a moderated-mediation model

Purpose This study aims to investigate how an individual’s perception of team goal priority can be affected by personal interaction, with co-worker support mediating the influence and communities of practice moderating the indirect effect of co-worker support. Design/methodology/approach Responses from 235 respondents working in private and public manufacturing and service enterprises in India collected through a structured questionnaire were statistically analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling and PROCESS Macro with random bootstrap resample. Findings Findings showed a positive relationship between personal interaction and the perception of individuals about team goal priority that was partially mediated by co-worker support. Communities of practice moderated the influence of personal interaction on co-worker support and the conditional indirect effect of personal interaction on the perception of team goal priority. Practical implications The results highlight the need for greater employee collaboration towards prioritizing team goals, thus showing a psychologically collectivist attitude. Policies and procedures to create and sustain organization-level communities of practice with employees across departments and hierarchies can also be helpful. Emphasizing the social exchange perspective, the authors recommend improving the overall work climate of any organization. Originality/value This paper explains the motivating source of personal interactions and co-worker support for prioritizing team goals in an organization. Establishing the moderating role of communities of practice, the authors have confirmed the role of a social learning system in prioritizing team goals.