Date of Award
2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing
Program
Nursing
Supervisor
Dr. Carol Wong
Second Advisor
Dr. Heather Laschinger
Abstract
Despite the current emphasis on evidence-based practice in healthcare, current findings suggest that the implementation of research findings in everyday clinical practice is haphazard and unpredictable at best with mixed outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test Kanter’s theory by examining the relationships among structural empowerment, leader-member exchange (LMX) quality, and nurses’ participation in personal knowledge transfer activities. This study was a secondary analysis of data collected in a non-experimental, predictive mailed survey design of registered nurses in Ontario (Laschinger, 2008). A random sample of 400 registered nurses who worked in urban tertiary care hospitals in Ontario yielded a final sample 234 for a 58.5% response rate. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the combination of LMX and structural empowerment accounted for 9.1% of the variance in personal knowledge transfer but only total empowerment was a significant independent predictor of knowledge transfer (/?=.291, /=4.012,/?<.001). Consistent with Kanter’s Theory (1977), higher levels of empowerment and leader-member exchange quality resulted in an increase in nurses’ participation in personal knowledge transfer in practice. The results reinforce the importance and pivotal role nurse leaders have in supporting work environments that are conducive to transfer of knowledge in practice to provide evidence- based care and uphold a high standard of practice.
Recommended Citation
Davies, Alicia, "NURSES’PARTICIPATION IN PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER: THE ROLE OF LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE AND STRUCTURAL EMPOWERMENT" (2010). Digitized Theses. 4190.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/4190