Examining the Relationship Between Psychological Safety, Knowledge Sharing, and Innovative Behaviour Among Employees in Nigerian Fintech Companies

Nigeria's rapidly expanding fintech sector requires environments that promote knowledge sharing and innovative behaviour to sustain competitive advantage, and psychological safety is increasingly recognised as the foundational team climate condition enabling these outcomes. This study examines the relationships among psychological safety, knowledge sharing behaviour, and innovative work behaviour among employees in Nigerian fintech companies. A cross-sectional analytical survey is applied to 260 employees from eight fintech firms in Lagos and Abuja, selected through stratified cluster sampling by company size. The Edmondson Team Psychological Safety Scale, the Knowledge Sharing Behaviour Scale, and the Innovative Work Behaviour Scale are administered alongside a questionnaire capturing team size, years of tenure, and management level. Structural equation modelling in AMOS tests the proposed dual-mediation model in which psychological safety predicts innovation through knowledge sharing. Literature from West African organisational psychology identifies management openness to questioning and clear failure tolerance norms as the psychological safety antecedents most predictive of knowledge sharing in technology sector firms. Edmondson's Psychological Safety Theory and the Social Exchange Theory provide the theoretical framework. This study fills a significant empirical gap in the organisational psychology of Nigeria's rapidly growing fintech industry. Findings will guide leadership development and innovation management practices in Nigerian technology firms. Keywords: psychological safety, knowledge sharing, innovative behaviour, fintech companies, Nigeria.