The sense of calling has emerged as a burgeoning research interest for the past decade due to its tight connection to the meaning of work. However, the mechanism of the sense of calling, especially how it works in the work context remains unclear. This study aims at enhancing the understanding and knowledge of what the concept of calling is and how to apply it into organizations. Therefore, a cross-level model was proposed and the antecedents and consequences of calling along with the influence of organizational factors were examined. Data were collected from 24 organizations consisted of 186 employees, and hierarchical linear modeling techniques were applied to test the hypotheses. As a result, it is found that with certain personality traits (i.e., Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness), one¡¦s sense of calling is more easily to be discovered. On the other hand, it is also likely to foster or develop one¡¦s sense of calling through organization¡¦s manipulation (i.e., the emphasis of CSR and the supportive climate). More importantly, the positive impact of sense of calling on an individual¡¦s performance has been demonstrated. Consequently, by considering both organizational-level and individual-level factors into the mechanism of calling, a valuable insight and application of an individual¡¦s sense of calling in the work context have been established.

Connecting Human Resource Management (HRM) and knowledge transfer through motivation is a new research area. Out of the few existing studies there is a predominance of quantitative studies, which are showing inconclusive results. As a response, this study uses a qualitative micro perspective to investigate how HRM practises influence intrinsic- and extrinsic motivation to share knowledge. It is important to divide motivation into intrinsic and extrinsic, as it impacts knowledge sharing differently. Former studies have identified a need to study the whole HRM system, therefore, to capture differences in motivation among employees exposed to the same system, this thesis takes on a single case study approach. Qualitative interviews were held with employees at an MNC that relies on knowledge intensive activities. The findings showed that employees were motivated intrinsically through career development and extrinsically by the performance management system. The supportive climate showed to influence motivation to share knowledge, both directly and indirectly. Job design was shown to work well in combination with other practises. Finally, a key finding was the importance of having an aligned HRM system.