Virtual Leadership Matters: Capturing its Role in Facilitating Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Learning Environment

Abstract

Many educational institutions and organizations have attempted to encourage knowledge sharing by implementing virtual learning communities. During the Coronavirus pandemic, how to utilize virtual communication technologies to effectively facilitate knowledge sharing among geographically dispersed learners (specifically in education institutions) has become an extremely urgent issue. Our study investigated 88 undergraduate students (nested in 10 groups) from a University in Southwest China. The research results reveal that self-presence and virtual member trust are the primary determinants in facilitating knowledge sharing (explicit vs tacit) in a virtual learning environment. Additionally, considering the challenges of forming effective collaborations in VLE (e.g., a great number of participants, environmental uncertainty, and one-way oriented communication), virtual leadership for improving the coordination of joint activities was developed. Virtual leadership improves the climate of a virtual learning environment by strengthening the relationships between self-presence/virtual member trust and knowledge sharing. Finally, the positive inter-relationship of explicit/tacit knowledge sharing and team performance is confirmed in our research.