Understanding how human resource (HR) management can stimulate knowledgesharing among employees has received considerable attention recently. However,the extant research has focused predominantly on which HR practices are usedand has paid little attention to how they are implemented. Building on both per-spectives, we explore the nature of the gaps between intended and perceived HRpractices and the effects of these gaps on knowledge-sharing behaviours. Based ona survey of 198 respondents from a high-tech company, we found that the gapsbetween intended and perceived HR practices (a) can be multidirectional, that is,both underestimation and overestimation of HR practices exist; (b) differ in theirmagnitude between line managers and employees; and (c) have varied effects onknowledge-sharing behaviours—they can be positive, negative or have no impact,and these effects differ between line managers and employees. We discuss a rangeof conceptual, methodological and practice implications of these findings.