{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/36216"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/36216","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Understanding Nurses' Knowledge Work","abstract":"Hospitals are increasingly investing in technologies and electronic knowledge management systems to improve patient care outcomes. Yet, effective implementation of these initiatives has been difficult with questionable return on investment outcomes (Ontario Hospital Association [OHA], 2007, 2008). Paton (2009) argues that understanding how employees put their knowledge into action at work is essential to successful knowledge management for organizations. Thus, strategies that target nurses’ knowledge work may be more effective for hospitals; particularly in times of mounting fiscal deficits and demands for health services. This study examined the behaviors, influences, and outcomes of nurses’ knowledge work. The hypothesized model was based on Kelloway & Barling’s (2000) knowledge work theory; explaining the impact of empowering leadership on nurses’ accountability, role-breadth self-efficacy, and control over practice to influence their knowledge work behaviours and ultimately, patient care delivery outcomes. The model was tested on a random sample of 318 registered nurses in Ontario, and initially demonstrated poor fit with the observed data; with further refinement to improve the overall model fit [χ2(df) = 512.66 (199), p < .001, SRMR = .064, CFI = .91, RMSEA = .071]. Final model results suggest that empowering leadership practices increase nurses’ knowledge work behaviors, which subsequently enhances their care coordination activities and patient care quality. Empowering leadership specifically increases nurses’ knowledge work by positively influencing their accountability and role-breadth self-efficacy, but not control over practice. This study is among the first to identify the behaviors by which nurses’ demonstrate their knowledge work, and the process by which empowering leadership influences such work behaviors to improve patient care quality.","abstract_html":"Hospitals are increasingly investing in technologies and electronic knowledge management systems to improve patient care outcomes. Yet, effective implementation of these initiatives has been difficult with questionable return on investment outcomes (Ontario Hospital Association [OHA], 2007, 2008). Paton (2009) argues that understanding how employees put their knowledge into action at work is essential to successful knowledge management for organizations. Thus, strategies that target nurses’ knowledge work may be more effective for hospitals; particularly in times of mounting fiscal deficits and demands for health services. This study examined the behaviors, influences, and outcomes of nurses’ knowledge work. The hypothesized model was based on Kelloway &amp; Barling’s (2000) knowledge work theory; explaining the impact of empowering leadership on nurses’ accountability, role-breadth self-efficacy, and control over practice to influence their knowledge work behaviours and ultimately, patient care delivery outcomes. The model was tested on a random sample of 318 registered nurses in Ontario, and initially demonstrated poor fit with the observed data; with further refinement to improve the overall model fit [χ2(df) = 512.66 (199), p &lt; .001, SRMR = .064, CFI = .91, RMSEA = .071]. Final model results suggest that empowering leadership practices increase nurses’ knowledge work behaviors, which subsequently enhances their care coordination activities and patient care quality. Empowering leadership specifically increases nurses’ knowledge work by positively influencing their accountability and role-breadth self-efficacy, but not control over practice. This study is among the first to identify the behaviors by which nurses’ demonstrate their knowledge work, and the process by which empowering leadership influences such work behaviors to improve patient care quality.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Siu, Heidi M"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"Ph D","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Nursing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Heather Laschinger"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-06-08","date_published":"2015-06-08","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:59Z","subjects":["nurses’ knowledge work","empowering leadership","accountability","role-breadth self-efficacy","control over practice","care coordination and quality"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/36216","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Heather Laschinger"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Siu, Heidi M"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T20:48:41Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T20:48:41Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2015-06-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nursing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph D"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["nurses’ knowledge work","empowering leadership","accountability","role-breadth self-efficacy","control over practice","care coordination and quality"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/36216"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). 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The hypothesized model was based on Kelloway & Barling’s (2000) knowledge work theory; explaining the impact of empowering leadership on nurses’ accountability, role-breadth self-efficacy, and control over practice to influence their knowledge work behaviours and ultimately, patient care delivery outcomes. The model was tested on a random sample of 318 registered nurses in Ontario, and initially demonstrated poor fit with the observed data; with further refinement to improve the overall model fit [χ2(df) = 512.66 (199), p < .001, SRMR = .064, CFI = .91, RMSEA = .071]. Final model results suggest that empowering leadership practices increase nurses’ knowledge work behaviors, which subsequently enhances their care coordination activities and patient care quality. Empowering leadership specifically increases nurses’ knowledge work by positively influencing their accountability and role-breadth self-efficacy, but not control over practice. 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