Corporate Trainers’ Social Capital and its Impact on In-Role Performance in a Professional Learning Community: A Moderated Mediation Model of Meaningfulness and Knowledge Sharing at Work

Abstract: This study explores the relationships between social capital, meaningfulness at work, knowledge sharing, and corporate trainers' in-role performance. We integrate social capital theory with job characteristics and broaden-and-build theoretical perspectives to shed new light on the knowledge-sharing processes by examining whether the above-mentioned relationships are moderated by meaningfulness at work and mediated by knowledge-sharing. The study was conducted using the largest online learning community of corporate trainers, providing 271 valid responses. We employed structural equation modeling using Mplus 8.8 to assess the hypothesized model. Additionally, we created an egocentric network to illustrate trainers’ social networks. While we found no direct link between social capital and trainers' in-role performance, we did identify a positive association between social capital and knowledge sharing among trainers. Moreover, knowledge sharing mediates the positive relationship between social capital and in-role performance. Additionally, meaningfulness at work is crucial in moderating the positive association between social capital and knowledge sharing and strengthening social capital’s mediated effect on in-role performance through knowledge sharing. This study integrates social capital theory with job characteristics and broaden-and-build theoretical perspectives to offer novel insights into the factors influencing trainers' in-role performance and knowledge-sharing process in an online learning community setting. This research emphasizes the importance of social capital and knowledge sharing for trainers and the role of finding work meaningful as a key moderator between them. It provides practical implications for organizations and trainers seeking to enhance performance and foster a supportive learning environment.