Purpose: This study aimed to develop and validate a hierarchical (second-order) model of the factors affecting knowledge sharing in professional NGOs.



Methodology: This applied descriptive-survey study employed a quantitative correlational design. The statistical population comprised members of the Construction Engineering Organization of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, from which 379 participants were selected using Morgan’s sampling table. Data were collected through a researcher-developed questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS. Reliability and validity were confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, average variance extracted (AVE), and discriminant validity.



Findings: The results supported the proposed second-order hierarchical model. Organizational, human, cultural, knowledge-related, and technological factors were confirmed as significant dimensions of the higher-order construct affecting knowledge sharing. Organizational factors showed the strongest effect, whereas technological factors exhibited the weakest contribution. At the component level, organizational strategy, professional responsibility and competence orientation, interpersonal communication and trust, knowledge quality, and technological training and expectations emerged as the strongest components within their respective dimensions.



Discussion and Conclusion: The findings indicate that knowledge sharing in professional NGOs is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by the simultaneous interaction of organizational, human, cultural, knowledge-related, and technological factors. The validated hierarchical model provides a comprehensive framework for understanding knowledge-sharing behavior and offers practical guidance for developing organizational knowledge strategies, strengthening professional responsibility, fostering trust-based collaboration, improving knowledge quality, and enhancing technological capabilities in professional organizations.