Bart van den Hooff

Knowledge sharing in context: the influence of organizational commitment, communication climate and CMC use on knowledge sharing

Determining which factors promote or impede the sharing of knowledge within groups and organizations constitutes an important area of research. This paper focuses on three such influences: “organizational commitment,” “organizational communication,” and the use of a specific instrument of communication – computer‐mediated communication (CMC). Two processes of knowledge sharing are distinguished: donating and collecting. A number of hypotheses are presented concerning the influence of commitment, climate and CMC on these processes. These hypotheses were tested in six case studies. The results suggest that commitment to the organization positively influences knowledge donating, and is in turn positively influenced by CMC use. Communication climate is found to be a key variable: a constructive communication climate was found to positively influence knowledge donating, knowledge collecting and affective commitment. Finally, a relationship was found that was not hypothesized: knowledge collecting influences knowledge donating in a positive sense – the more knowledge a person collects, the more he or she is willing to also donate knowledge to others. Based on these results, a number of theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and suggestions for further research are presented.

Explaining Knowledge Sharing The Role of Team Communication Styles, Job Satisfaction, and Performance Beliefs

In this study, the authors investigate the relationships between team communication styles and job-related cognitions on one hand and knowledge-sharing attitudes and behaviors on the other using 424 members of different work-related teams. Both eagerness and willingness to share are positively related to knowledge sharing—both donating and collecting knowledge. These attitudes mediate the relationships of communication styles, job satisfaction, and performance beliefs with knowledge-collecting and donating behaviors. In terms of team communication styles, an agreeable style is positively related to team members’ willingness to share their knowledge, whereas an extravert communication style of a team is positively related to both eagerness and willingness to share. Performance beliefs and job satisfaction are both related to willingness and eagerness to share knowledge. However, in contrast with the authors’ expectations, the relationship between eagerness to share knowledge and knowledge donating is not stronger than the one between eagerness and knowledge collecting.In this study, the authors investigate the relationships between team communication styles and job-related cognitions on one hand and knowledge-sharing attitudes and behaviors on the other using 424 members of different work-related teams. Both eagerness and willingness to share are positively related to knowledge sharing—both donating and collecting knowledge. These attitudes mediate the relationships of communication styles, job satisfaction, and performance beliefs with knowledge-collecting and donating behaviors. In terms of team communication styles, an agreeable style is positively related to team members’ willingness to share their knowledge, whereas an extravert communication style of a team is positively related to both eagerness and willingness to share. Performance beliefs and job satisfaction are both related to willingness and eagerness to share knowledge. However, in contrast with the authors’ expectations, the relationship between eagerness to share knowledge and knowledge donating is not s...

Managing knowledge sharing: Emergent and engineering approaches

We wished to determine how the process of knowledge sharing could be managed, seeing that it is a knowledge management dilemma. If knowledge sharing is crucial to an organizations interests, but is inherently emergent in nature, how can the organization still manage the process? In order to answer this question, a distinction was made between two approaches towards managing knowledge sharing: an emergent approach, focusing on the social dynamics between organizational members and the nature of their daily tasks, and an engineering approach, focusing on management interventions to facilitate knowledge transfer. While the first is central to todays thinking about knowledge, we used a field study in six organizations to show that both approaches have value in explaining knowledge sharing. Instruments that are part of the engineering approach create conditions for variables in the emergent approach, which in turn also exert a direct influence on knowledge sharing.

Knowledge sharing in knowledge communities

This paper investigates the contribution of ICT to knowledge sharing in communities of practice. A theoretical model is built that identifies the possible influence of ICT on the extent to which knowledge is shared within a community, as well as a number of variables that determine the extent to which this contribution is realized. This theoretical model was tested within two ICT-facilitated communities for professionals in the area of working conditions. The results of these case studies show that ICTs most important contribution to knowledge sharing in communities consists of the realization of a shared information base (communality) and facilitating communication independent of time and place (connectivity). The results also show that trust among members of a community, and their identification with the community, are important influences on knowledge sharing. Task interdependence and the communitys information culture are also identified as important influences.

Satisfaction with virtual worlds: An integrated model of experiential value

Although virtual worlds increasingly attract users today, few studies have addressed what satisfies virtual world users. We therefore defined and tested an integrated model of experiential system value and virtual world satisfaction. Drawing upon expectancy-value and cognitive evaluation theories, four important facets of experiential system value were hypothesized as determinants of virtual world satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was employed on a sample of 567 users of the virtual world Second Life. Direct and indirect effects were tested and are reported. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keeping the wheels turning: The dynamics of managing networks of practice

Intra-organizational networks of practice (NOPs) confront managers with a dilemma: they must manage NOPs to reap benefits from integrating geographically dispersed knowledge, but the inherently emergent nature of NOPs implies that management control may frustrate practice-related knowledge to be shared. Based on a case study of 22 NOPs in a geographically dispersed development organization (‘TDO’), we develop a model that disentangles the dynamics underlying this dilemma, helping to better understand it. Specifically, four dynamic relationships are interrelated and involve four kinds of embeddedness (organizational, in practice, relational, and structural) that relate dynamically to knowledge sharing in NOPs. Interventions in both the content shared in the network and the connections among network members can influence each of these relations. This study contributes to theoretical and practical understanding of how to manage NOPs without killing them.

Situational Influences on the Use of Communication Technologies A Meta-Analysis and Exploratory Study

As communication technologies such as e-mail have become indispensable for business communication, the study of the use and effects of such technologies is increasingly relevant. In this article, the authors present a model of the different factors influencing e-mail use in organizations. Building on three theoretical approaches concerning the adoption and use of communication technologies, they present a meta-analysis of recent studies about e-mail use in organizations. The results of the analysis form the basis for a model explaining e-mail use. A first validation of the model using survey methodology is presented.

Inside the source selection process: Selection criteria for human information sources

Co-workers are an important source of information in organizations. Consequently, information managers seek to facilitate the use of such human information sources. Although various studies about what influences the use of human information sources in organizations exist, it is difficult for information managers to utilize insights from this research body. The studies have provided contradictory results regarding the role of accessibility and quality and suffer from various weaknesses. To address these weaknesses, several studies are employing other research methods. This study aims to contribute to the methodological development of this emerging new line of research by exploring the value of a think aloud approach to such studies. In addition, it aims to provide more insight into the role of accessibility and quality in the selection of human information sources in organizations. Fifty-six employees from four governmental organizations were asked to think aloud while selecting human information sources. The findings of this study corroborate those of studies taking a similar approach: source quality is the most dominant factor in the selection of human information sources. The think aloud approach seems a valuable contribution to available research methods to assess the role of accessibility and quality in human source selection in organizations.

Us and them: a social capital perspective on the relationship between the business and IT departments

AbstractIn this paper, a social capital perspective is applied to the relationship between the IT department and the Business organization. IT and Business are conceptualized as different occupatio...In this paper, a social capital perspective is applied to the relationship between the IT department and the Business organization. IT and Business are conceptualized as different occupational communities, with different understandings of their work. Our focus is on the level of social capital and the process of knowledge sharing between these occupational communities. We analyze the role that these factors play in reaching a mutual understanding within the process of IS development, and the influence this has on the perceived performance of the IT organization. Our study, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, points out that a lack of social capital (structural, relational as well as cognitive) can serve as an explanation for the often problematic relationship between these communities. Our analyses also show that social capital is especially relevant for the Business organizations perception of IT performance, whereas the IT departments perception is that performance is primarily dependent on the exchange of information.

Are We on the Same Page? Knowledge Boundaries and Transactive Memory System Development in Cross-Functional Teams:

One of the key challenges that organizations face when trying to integrate knowledge across different functions is the need to overcome knowledge boundaries between team members. In cross-functional teams, these boundaries, associated with different knowledge backgrounds of people from various disciplines, create communication problems, necessitating team members to engage in complex cognitive processes when integrating knowledge toward a joint outcome. This research investigates the impact of syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic knowledge boundaries on a team’s ability to develop a transactive memory system (TMS)—a collective memory system for knowledge coordination in groups. Results from our survey show that syntactic and pragmatic knowledge boundaries negatively affect TMS development. These findings extend TMS theory beyond the information-processing view, which treats knowledge as an object that can be stored and retrieved, to the interpretive and practice-based views of knowledge, which recognize that knowledge (in particular specialized knowledge) is localized, situated, and embedded in practice.