Generally, an exchange relationship can involve both economic resources (e.g. money, goods, and
services) and socio-emotional resources (e.g. status, devotion, and trust). Reciprocity behavior has
been highlighted as a benefit of individuals engaging in social exchange [53]. Reciprocity behavior
can provide a sense of mutual indebtedness, leading knowledge contributors to generally expect
help from others, ensuring ongoing supportive knowledge sharing [54]. Previous research indicated
that knowledge sharing in online communities is facilitated by a strong sense of reciprocity [55].
Furthermore, researchers have observed that reciprocal benefits can provide an effective motivation
to facilitate knowledge sharing and thus achieve long-term mutual cooperation [24, 56]. Thus, if
employees believe they can obtain reciprocal benefits from other colleagues by sharing their knowl-
edge, they are more likely to view knowledge sharing favorably and thus have higher knowledge
sharing intentions. The following hypotheses are proposed.