scholarly journals Performing openness: how the interplay between knowledge sharing and digital infrastructure creates multiple accountabilities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Ivan Träskman ◽  
Matti Skoog
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Organization Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Focal Firm ◽  
Spiral Case ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Multiple Units

PurposeThe present study aims to address the emergence of platform-organized open innovation (OI). The research has the two main aims: the first is to increase the understanding of the performance of OI by investigating how the achievements of OI are measured in situated practices from a performative and strategic knowledge management (SKM) orientation. The methodological disadvantages of not pre-given case selection are partially counterbalanced by the second aim of the research, which is to extend existing SKM theory and examine how platforms create knowledge as they include actors and digital devices, thereby potentially redistributing relations of accountability.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on performativity theory, the paper studies how the achievements and knowledge created in OI are managed and evaluated in practice. The case description draws on different sources from a spiral case study, as openness is performed by platform, firm, crowd and innovation intermediaries.FindingsThe paper illustrates how a strategy of digitally enabled openness brings its own issues as platforms enable knowledge sharing and perform a redistribution of accountability. In the heterarchies studied through this research endeavor, managers and their team members were accountable not only to multiple units, or teams, across the organization, but also to the crowd. The case material demonstrates that the ecology of devices and their performative struggles create lateral accountability.Research limitations/implicationsWhile recent streams of research suggest that the context of OI (i.e. distributed sources of knowledge for innovation) shifts the unit of analysis of organization design from the individual firm to networks of actors organized on platforms, the authors find that the focal firm still remains a key conceptual parameter in SKM research, which, in turn, makes it difficult to capture the suggested radicality of OI.Practical implicationsThe authors show, that in practice, the firm has to take into account the performance of the external crowd and at times put resources into its training and education. In heterarchy, distributed authority is assumed to be facilitated through lateral accountability, whereby the traditional principles of vertical authority no longer hold, but rather, managers and their team members can be accountable to multiple units, or teams, across the organization.Originality/valueThe paper develops a performative theory of openness. OI is a model, strategy and socio-material practice whereby digital designs create an ecology of devices that can enact all kinds of openness. Ultimately, the current paper proposes that SKM and OI theory need to consider how platforms perform relations of accountability beyond the boundaries of the single organization.

The role of knowledge sharing and LMX to enhance employee creativity in theme park work team

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 2343-2359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-hsien Liao ◽  
Chih-chiang Chen ◽  
Da-chian Hu
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Theme Park ◽  
Employee Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Member Exchange ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Customer Services ◽  
The Individual

Purpose This paper aims to empirically test individual, team and multi-level relationships among knowledge sharing (KS), leader–member exchange (LMX), employee creativity (EC) and team innovation (TI). The study tests how KS affects EC via LMX at lower and multi levels. At a higher level, how creativity affects TI is also tested. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires were sent to 43 team leaders and 215 team members from the largest theme park in Taiwan, E-DA, who are engaged in offering creative and innovative customer services. Multilevel analysis was conducted based on the questionnaires received. Findings Major findings agree the contention that KS can improve EC via LMX at both employee and multi-level. The results also indicate that KS affects team creativity (TC) at the team level; however, TC and TI do not have a significant positive relationship. Originality/value The study examined how to enhance employees’ creativity from the individual and team levels in a theme park, an area with rare literature. The authors found that LMX is an important mediator between KS and EC. The mediated effect of KS on EC through LMX is higher in a cross level than individual level. In addition, a team’s KS has more effect on EC than the individual level.

scholarly journals Knowledge sharing in open source software communities: motivations and management

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 791-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zilia Iskoujina ◽  
Joanne Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aims to add to the understanding of knowledge sharing in online communities through an investigation of the relationship between individual participant’s motivations and management in open source software (OSS) communities. Drawing on a review of literature concerning knowledge sharing in organisations, the factors that motivate participants to share their knowledge in OSS communities, and the management of such communities, it is hypothesised that the quality of management influences the extent to which the motivations of members actually result in knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach – To test the hypothesis, quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire survey of OSS web developers with the aim of gathering respondents’ opinions concerning knowledge sharing, motivations to share knowledge and satisfaction with the management of OSS projects. Factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to explore the survey data. Findings – The analysis of the data reveals that the individual participant’s satisfaction with the management of an OSS project is an important factor influencing the extent of their personal contribution to a community. Originality/value – Little attention has been devoted to understanding the impact of management in OSS communities. Focused on OSS developers specialising in web development, the findings of this paper offer an important original contribution to understanding the connections between individual members’ satisfaction with management and their motivations to contribute to an OSS project. The findings reveal that motivations to share knowledge in online communities are influenced by the quality of management. Consequently, the findings suggest that appropriate management can enhance knowledge sharing in OSS projects and online communities, and organisations more generally.

scholarly journals A public goods model of outcomes from online knowledge sharing mediated by mental model processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Rice ◽  
Marni Heinz ◽  
Ward van Zoonen
Keyword(s):  
Public Goods ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Individual

Purpose This study aims to take a public goods approach to understand relationships between collecting and contributing knowledge to an online knowledge sharing portal (KSP), mental model processing and outcomes at the individual and collective levels. Design/methodology/approach This study reports on a survey (N = 602) among tax professionals, examining the perceived individual and collective benefits and costs associated with collecting and contributing knowledge. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings Collecting and contributing knowledge led to considerable mental model processing of the knowledge. That in turn significantly influenced (primarily) individual and (some) collective costs and benefits. Results varied by the kinds of knowledge sharing. Whether directly from knowledge sharing, or mediated through mental modeling, the perceived costs and benefits may be internalized as an individual good rather than being interpreted at the collective level as a public good. Research limitations/implications The study is situated in the early stages of a wiki-type online KSP. A focus on the learning potential of the system could serve to draw in new users and contributors, heightening perceptions of the public goods dimension of a KSP. Practical implications A focus on the learning potential of the system could serve to draw in new users, and thus the number of subsequent contributors, heightening perceptions of the collective, public goods dimension of a KSP. Originality/value This study explores how knowledge sharing and mental model processing are directly and indirectly associated with individual and collective costs and benefits. As online knowledge sharing is both an individual and public good, costs and benefits must be considered from both perspectives.

Epistemological beliefs and knowledge sharing in work teams

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frankie J. Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Epistemological Beliefs ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Team ◽  
Epistemological Belief ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Training Team

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a knowledge-sharing model that explains individual members’ motivation to share knowledge (knowledge donation and knowledge collection). Design/methodology/approach – The model is based on social-constructivist theories of epistemological beliefs, learning and distributed cognition, and is organized via the mechanism of propositional control, which suggests that attitudes or beliefs largely drive one’s behaviors. This paper also explores how epistemological belief systems may influence behavior processes at work. Findings – The model presented consists of five epistemological belief dimensions consistent with previous theorization about personal epistemologies. This paper demonstrates how sophisticated (as opposed to naive) beliefs on each of these five dimensions can stimulate one’s intrinsic desire to engage in knowledge-sharing behaviors. Research limitations/implications – The model is constrained by the assumptions that learning takes place socially and within a specific context (in this case, the team setting), and that a great deal of knowledge sharing is preferred over little knowledge sharing. This paper adds to the understanding of workplace learning by establishing a possible new antecedent to explain the process of how team members are motivated to engage in knowledge-sharing behaviors. Practical implications – The model may be used for knowledge management and to understand ineffectiveness in teams. It also may assist in human resource functions including selecting and training team members for knowledge-intensive positions. Social implications – Epistemology affects collaborative relationships. Collaborations and associated knowledge-sharing behaviors among work team members who design and implement products for public use are imperative toward developing products free from health and safety issues. Originality/value – This paper provides a model for understanding and developing motivation to engage in individual knowledge-sharing behaviors among work team members, which is considered critical toward an organization’s competitive advantage.

Relationship between team learning and team effectiveness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia Elizabeth Puente-Palacios ◽  
Raquel Trinchão de Jesus Barouh
Keyword(s):  
Team Learning ◽  
Individual Learning ◽  
Team Processes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Team Potency ◽  
Collective Process ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
The Individual

Purpose The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, to demonstrate that learning occurs as a collective process in addition to traditional individual learning and second, to identify its antecedents and consequences at the team level. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered using questionnaires answered by 356 participants organized in 90 teams. Quantitative analytic strategies were applied to verify if individual answers of team members were similar enough to compound team scores and to measure the predictive power of the proposed model. Findings Results showed that team learning is a collective phenomenon: intra-team differences were small and differences between teams were significant. Additional results demonstrated that team learning is predicted by team potency (34%) and, at the group level, explains 5% of the team’s satisfaction. Practical implications The findings of the present research suggest that organizational managers can improve the results of teams by supporting the development of social processes such as potency and learning. Originality/value Learning in organizations has received close attention in recent years. However, publications are focusing mostly on the individual learning that occurs in teams and organizations. The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate what characterizes team learning as a collective process and which relations it maintains with other team processes.

Organizational dynamics: exploring the factors affecting knowledge sharing behavior

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nóra Obermayer ◽  
Viktoria Erika Toth
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Organizational Characteristics ◽  
Organizational Dynamics ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
The Individual

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the individual and organizational factors that influence knowledge sharing (KS) behavior within Hungarian organizations. Design/methodology/approach The data were obtained from 238 completed questionnaires collected via the LimeSurvey system. The analysis is based on applied quantitative methodology, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The research investigated the relationships between individual and organizational characteristics and the KS behavior at individual and global levels. Findings Among individual factors, significant relationships have been identified regarding the generation and position of individuals, and KS behavior, while gender and education do not seem to play a significant role. With respect to organizational factors, the size of the organization and the tenure of individuals are found to be significant. Research limitations/implications The results of the analysis are limited because the data set was not large enough to investigate inter- and intra-industry variability. Practical implications The outcome of this research can support the design of managerial and organizational processes and incentives that will potentially facilitate KS in a more efficient and effective manner. Such improved KS is likely to improve the overall performance of knowledge-intensive organizations. Originality/value The original value of this research is that individual and organizational characteristics have been identified that influence KS behavior. The study focuses on a single country, Hungary, and provides relevant insight into the organizational dynamics of a specific national context.

Knowledge sharing in ISD projects: role of task interdependence and social capital

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyejung Lee ◽  
Jun-Gi Park ◽  
Jungwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Task Interdependence ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Work Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members

PurposeExtant literature on design theory has little empirical evidence about how work characteristics affect team interaction processes. This paper examines the knowledge-sharing process in information systems development (ISD) projects.Design/methodology/approachTask interdependence from work design theory was used as an antecedent of knowledge sharing for collaboration for the empirical analysis. Data were collected from 203 ISD project teams in South Korea to examine team social capital and knowledge sharing among team members.FindingsThe results indicate that task interdependence has a statistically significant impact on the knowledge-sharing process. The mediating roles of social capital and knowledge sharing are critical. Additionally, the effects of social capital change over time as long-term projects have different mechanisms than short-term ones.Originality/valueThe paper introduces a novel perspective (i.e. the adoption of task interdependence from work design theory) and integrates it with the research constructs that play important roles in ISD projects: knowledge sharing and teams’ social capital. In an ISD project team, which represents knowledge-intensive collaboration and has heterogeneous team characteristics, task interdependence has a positive impact on the team as predicted by work design theory. It verifies the mediating effect of social capital, particularly the changing influence of social capital with time.

A knowledge sharing approach for R&D project team formation

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyyed Mahdi Hosseini ◽  
Peyman Akhavan ◽  
Morteza Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Team ◽  
Mixed Integer ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Global Criterion ◽  
Global Criterion Method ◽  
Project Objectives

Purpose This paper intends to propose an approach for formation of the R&D project teams, so that in addition to the selection of the most expert individuals, facilitates the knowledge sharing among people. Design/methodology/approach Mathematical modeling was used to formulate the problem of selecting appropriate members for the project team. As the problem was formulated as a bi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming problem, it was initially transformed from nonlinear to linear problem, and then, the global criterion method was applied to convert the problem into a single-objective problem. To collect the data for exogenous variables, the measurement scales (their validity had been verified in previous research) were adopted. Findings The results of various tests for evaluating the proposed approach in the case study confirmed its effectiveness in selecting the appropriate members of the project team. Practical implications Using the proposed approach, R&D project managers will be able to select the most appropriate members for the project team and, while ensuring the achievement of project objectives, prevent the loss of knowledge gained in the project lifecycle. Originality/value This paper is the first attempt to provide an approach for sharing the knowledge gained by the project team members in the R&D projects.

scholarly journals Knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and SMEs: evolution, antecedents, outcomes and directions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amitabh Anand ◽  
Birgit Muskat ◽  
Andrew Creed ◽  
Ambika Zutshi ◽  
Anikó Csepregi
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Organizational Memory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Hr Managers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to systematically synthesize the extant literature of knowledge sharing (KS) and knowledge transfer (KT) in the small and medium enterprise (SME) context and to contribute with predictions of emerging themes.Design/methodology/approachApplied is a systematic literature review using three bibliometric techniques: (1) textual analysis for keywords and abstracts to identify the research hotspots, (2) co-citation analysis of references to identify the evolution of KS and KT in SME and (3) bibliographic coupling analysis of documents to synthesize antecedents and outcomes.FindingsA conceptual map emerges from the review to reveal the antecedents of KS and KT at the individual, group and organizational levels. The analysis shows the strategic importance of KS and KT for the SME context. Specific findings include: (1) KS and KT are involved in enhancing SMEs strategic focus for human resources, including organizational learning, customer relations, creativity, higher profit and positive effects on operational processes and decision-making. (2) Innovation, trust and performance are identified as central human factors linked to KS and KT in SMEs. (3) Human resource (HR) management research could contribute to KS and KT in the SME domain by exploring KS- and KT-based practices, linking the emergence of innovation and innovative behaviors to these practices, leading to a better understanding of strategies that enable the long-term storage and retrieval of tacit and explicit knowledge as organizational memory in the SME context.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first to systematically review KS and KT in SMEs and propose a concept map. The research adds value to the growing literature of KS and KT and exposes the need for more specific activities to support SME managers, as well as HR managers, who need to facilitate KS and KT in SMEs.

Team reflexivity and employee innovative behavior: the mediating role of knowledge sharing and moderating role of leadership

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhining Wang ◽  
Shuang Ren ◽  
Doren Chadee ◽  
Mengli Liu ◽  
Shaohan Cai
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Study Design ◽  
Innovative Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multilevel Study ◽  
Individual Employee ◽  
Benevolent Leadership ◽  
The Individual

Purpose Although team reflexivity has been identified as a potent tool for improving organizational performance, how and when it influences individual employee innovative behavior remains theoretically and conceptually underspecified. Taking a knowledge management perspective, this study aims to investigate the role of team-level knowledge sharing and leadership in transforming team reflexivity into innovative behavior at the individual level. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a multilevel study design to collect data (n = 441) from 91 teams in 48 knowledge-based organizations. The paper tests our multilevel model using multinomial logistic techniques. Findings The overall results confirm that knowledge sharing in teams mediates the influence of team reflexivity on individual employee innovative behavior, and that leadership plays an important role in moderating these influences. Specifically, authoritarian leadership is found to attenuate the team reflexivity and knowledge sharing effect, whereas benevolent leadership is found to amplify this indirect effect. Originality/value The multilevel study design that explains how team-level processes translate into innovative behavior at the individual employee level is novel. Relatedly, our use of a multilevel analytical framework is also original.

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