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The Search-Transfer Problem: The Role of Weak Ties in Sharing Knowledge across Organization Subunits
Abstract
This paper combines the concept of weak ties from social network research and the notion of complex knowledge to explain the role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organization subunits in a multiunit organization. I use a network study of 120 new-product development projects undertaken by 41 divisions in a large electronics company to examine the task of developing new products in the least amount of time. Findings show that weak interunit ties help a project team search for useful knowledge in other subunits but impede the transfer of complex knowledge, which tends to require a strong tie between the two parties to a transfer. Having weak interunit ties speeds up projects when knowledge is not complex but slows them down when the knowledge to be transferred is highly complex. I discuss the implications of these findings for research on social networks and product innovation.
... However, under higher timepressure conditions, cross-unit advice ties are facilitated by reciprocal advice ties embedded in the workflow ties between units. (Cross & Sproull, 2004;Hansen, 1999;Tsai, 2002). ...
... Advice relations and the exchange of knowledge that they entail have been linked to enhanced productivity and effectiveness of units, teams, and individuals (Argote, McEvily, & Reagans, 2003;Hansen, 1999;Reagans & Zuckerman, 2001;Tortoriello & Krackhardt, 2010), and can create competitive advantage (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000;Grant, 1996). Despite their benefits, research suggests that informal advice relationships across units are difficult to build and maintain (Lomi, Lusher, Pattison, & Robins, 2014). ...
... Individuals incur costs, such as time and energy, in building and maintaining advice relationships (Hansen, 1999;Nebus, 2006;Tsai 2002). However, there is limited agreement on how these costs can be overcome, especially for advice relations across units within an organization. ...
Informal advice relations across units in an organization are beneficial for knowledge sharing and problem-solving. Prior research suggests that despite their benefits, there are costs to informal advice relations across units. However, the mechanisms by which these costs are mitigated remain unclear. We theorize that this lack of clarity is because work factors have not been sufficiently considered. We examine one such work factor, time pressure, and develop a cost-based explanation for how time pressure influences cross-unit advice relationships. We investigate two time-pressure levels. In the first, work is conducted under lower time pressure, and there is less likelihood of a negative outcome. In the second, work is conducted under higher time-pressure conditions, and there is a greater likelihood of a negative outcome. We theorize that under lower time-pressure conditions, the costs of advice relations across units are mitigated by reciprocal advice relationships. However, under higher time pressure, the cost of informal advice relations across units is higher owing to the need for quick coordination of advice, and these costs are mitigated by reciprocal advice relationships in conjunction with cross-unit formal workflow relationships. To test our hypotheses, we examine the informal advice network and formal workflow network in lower and higher time-pressure conditions among 118 members of the Information Technology and Systems division of a Formula One racing team. Our results indicate that under lower time-pressure conditions, reciprocal advice ties are sufficient to overcome costs. However, under higher time-pressure conditions, cross-unit advice ties are facilitated by reciprocal advice ties embedded in the workflow ties between units. Thus, our findings have implications for how knowledge is managed and how problems are solved in organizations.
... Identifying emergent IBSs is vital for examining the interplay between the micro, meso, and macro level conditions that promote such emergence (Levina and Vaast 2005). While several quantitative methods for IBSs have been provided for measuring informational boundary spanning (Ancona and Caldwell 1992;Hansen 1999;Cummings 2004;Marrone 2010;, these methods typically focus on boundary spanning at the level of one or multiple groups rather than at the level of the individual actor. Specifically, some methods focus on assessing the volume of boundary spanning (e.g., through the frequency of communication) vis a vis operational performance (e.g., time required for project completion) at the group level (Hansen 1999;Cummings 2004;Zagorecki et al. 2009). ...
... While several quantitative methods for IBSs have been provided for measuring informational boundary spanning (Ancona and Caldwell 1992;Hansen 1999;Cummings 2004;Marrone 2010;, these methods typically focus on boundary spanning at the level of one or multiple groups rather than at the level of the individual actor. Specifically, some methods focus on assessing the volume of boundary spanning (e.g., through the frequency of communication) vis a vis operational performance (e.g., time required for project completion) at the group level (Hansen 1999;Cummings 2004;Zagorecki et al. 2009). Other methods, directly measure the success of IBSs in retrieving information for their group in a timely manner (Ancona and Caldwell 1992;Marrone et al. 2007;. ...
... This study introduced a method for measuring the emergence of IBSs. Compared to previous work that measures the emergence of informational boundary spanning at the level of a group or groups (Ancona and Caldwell 1992;Hansen 1999;Cummings 2004;Zagorecki et al. 2009; Marrone Emergence of IBSs can thus be tracked in greater detail, and the heterogeneous characteristics of those that emerge as IBSs can be observed at the micro level. Further, the interplay between the individual, group, and inter-group levels and its impact on the emergence of effective IBSs can be studied through this method. ...
Collective intelligence of diverse groups is key for tackling many of today's grand challenges such as fostering resilience and climate adaptation. Information exchange across such diverse groups is crucial for collective intelligence, especially in volatile environments. To facilitate inter-group information exchange, Informational Boundary Spanners (IBSs) as pivotal information exchange 'hubs' are promising. However, the mechanisms that drive the emergence of IBSs remain poorly understood. To address this gap there is first a need for a method to identify and measure the emergence of IBSs. Second, an Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) framework is not available to systematically study mechanisms for the emergence of IBSs in volatile environments. Third, even though the ability to learn who provides high-quality information is thought to be essential to explain the emergence of IBSs, a rigorous test of this mechanism is missing. The learning mechanism is formalized using an ABM framework, with the model's outputs analyzed using the proposed IBS emergence measurement method. To illustrate both the method and the learning mechanism, we present a case study focused on information sharing in the volatile environment of a disaster. The study shows that learning constitutes a mechanism for the emergence of effective IBSs in (a) low-volatility environments characterised by low uncertainty and (b) in high-volatility environments characterised by rapid change if the number of inter-group connections is sufficient. With the method and model, this paper aims to lay the foundations for exploring mechanisms for the emergence of IBSs that facilitate inter-group information exchange. This article advances collective intelligence by providing the essential elements for measuring and understanding the emergence of IBSs and exploring the effect of learning on their emergence in volatile environments.
... their social networks) as a key entrepreneurial resource (Jenssen and Greve 2002). Research shows that both strong ties such as, family and close friends, and weak ties for instance, customers, vendors and creditors have the ability to positively influence an individual's life (Aldrich and Elam 1997;Granovetter 1973;Hansen 1999). For example, weak ties can provide a rich source of novel information, different from what an individual normally receives, while those to whom the individual has strong ties with will have greater motivation to help with relevant information, such as that regarding employment or investment opportunities (Granovetter 1973;Hansen 1999). ...
... Research shows that both strong ties such as, family and close friends, and weak ties for instance, customers, vendors and creditors have the ability to positively influence an individual's life (Aldrich and Elam 1997;Granovetter 1973;Hansen 1999). For example, weak ties can provide a rich source of novel information, different from what an individual normally receives, while those to whom the individual has strong ties with will have greater motivation to help with relevant information, such as that regarding employment or investment opportunities (Granovetter 1973;Hansen 1999). In an entrepreneurial context, people leverage both strong and weak ties for immediately relevant and novel ideas respectively to start and grow their businesses. ...
Social media is ubiquitous and continuously evolving. This study investigates the impact of social media on the intention toward entrepreneurship/self-employment. Further, we explore the moderating effect of social media on the relationships between women, self-efficacy and leisure activities on intention toward entrepreneurship/self-employment using a survey-based dataset. We find that the ability to take advantage of social media within an entrepreneurial context does not necessarily mean that an individual is propelled towards entrepreneurship, however proactive individuals are able to exhibit this characteristic, as are creative women. A counter-intuitive finding is that entrepreneurship and conventional organizational employment choices are not mutually exclusive. While risk aversion inhibits entrepreneurship as expected, contextual conditions such as being married or being employed affects men and women differently.
... Innovation scholars have argued that strong bonds between partners are subject to declining marginal benefits [8,9]. At first organizations accumulate gains from solidifying existing relationships, as transaction costs decrease [10] and the exchange of complex and tacit knowledge becomes easier, but beyond a certain threshold the learning potential for both parties may be exhausted [10][11][12][13]. Social embeddedness can begin to act as a filter for the entry of new knowledge and ideas, causing cognitive isolation and suboptimal innovative performance [14][15][16]. ...
... Repeated engagements tend to engender "relational" trust between participating entities [42][43][44]. This can in turn reduce actors' perception of expected opportunistic behavior, decrease transaction costs and ease the transfer of both complex and tacit knowledge [10][11][12][13]17,45,46]. On the other hand, strong ties between partners may also reinforce retention mechanisms and prevent the inflow or nonredundant information [15,16,47]. ...
Despite organizations’ documented tendency to repeat research collaborations with prior partners, scholarly understanding on the implications of recurring interactions for the content of the collaboration has been fairly limited. This paper investigates whether and under what conditions organizations use repeated research partnerships to explore new topics, as opposed to deepening their expertise in a single one (exploitation). The empirical analysis is based on the Spanish region of Valencia and its publicly funded R&D network. Employing lexical similarity to compare the topic and content of project abstracts, we find that strong ties are not always associated with the exploitation of the same topic. Yet, exploration is more likely when at least one of the partners mobilizes a network of distinct contacts and can access novel knowledge.
... Empirical investigations have examined the strengths of weak ties, including a study that analysed the network characteristics of 120 new product development projects within a large electronics company. This study revealed that weak ties play a pivotal role in facilitating project teams' discovery of useful knowledge, yet they also pose challenges in transferring complex knowledge (Hansen, 1999). In examining the influence of social capital on regional innovation processes in European regions, it was found that associational activity, representative of weak ties, exerts a strong impact on patent activity. ...
... However, this speed diminishes when transferring knowledge is highly complex (Hansen, 1999). ...
This study explores whether the ‘strength of weak ties’ theory, derived from social network theory, can equally apply to business activities. To address this question, we conduct an empirical analysis, utilising 3‐year panel data encompassing 3881 samples of Korean small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the high‐tech manufacturing sector. The primary objective is to examine the effects of inter‐corporate tie strength on innovative performance. The results reveal an interesting pattern in high‐tech manufacturing corporations, where the strength of a tie demonstrates an inverted U‐shaped relationship with an SME's patent achievement. Moreover, we observe that the effect of tie strength on an SME's patent achievement is positively moderated by its research and development (R&D) intensity. Furthermore, when an SME maintains weak ties within its relationship with a large corporation, its innovative performance experiences a more positive impact than in cases where no relationship with a large corporation exists, or strong ties are maintained. These findings suggest that for SMEs, maintaining an appropriate level of embeddedness with large corporations is an effective strategy for generating sustained innovative performance within an environment characterised by active technological innovation and intense competition. The principal contribution of this paper lies in the empirical validation of the theory of weak ties concerning a firm's innovative performance.
... Social capital positively influences the creation of intellectual capital "because social capital directly affects the combine-and-exchange process and provides relatively easy access to network resources" (McFadyen and Cannella, 2004). Social capital increases access to knowledge (Zahra and George, 2002) by providing the conduits for transferring knowledge (Hansen, 1999); by facilitating knowledge sharing (Alavi and Leidner, 2001) and by providing trusted relationships (Levin and Cross, 2004). Furthermore, social capital increases knowledge reach and richness (Sambamurthy et al., 2003) by providing a shared language and a common frame of reference, and by lowering potential barriers to cooperation (Nelson and Cooprider, 1996). ...
... filters for information and lead to an increase of congruency regarding the perception of information (Galunic and Rodan, 1998;Hansen, 1999). Third, the cognitive dimension of social capital deals with shared vocabulary, narratives, and interpretations (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998). ...
This research investigates how and to which extent the social capital inherent in a firm’s external relationships to diverse business partners contributes to the firm’s intellectual capital and in turn fosters its innovativeness. We apply the Social Capital Theory to an inter-organisational context and show how a firm’s social relationships with its various external partners contribute to its intellectual capital, and how these contributions differ between different types of partners (e.g., customers vs. suppliers). In contrast to intra-organisational contexts, we show that the association between social capital and intellectual capital is positive, neutral, or even negative depending on the external partner’s position vis-à-vis a firm’s supply chain and the type of knowledge. Using data from 153 German manufacturing firms, the results of a PLS-based analysis provide important insights into how and through which mechanisms firms can become successful innovators.
... Compared to SI, WI is defined as an indirect process that influences the outcomes of technological innovation with low information redundancy, strong independence, minimal backflow, and few external constraints [77]. In VS, the diversity of agents and the comprehensiveness of relationships enable companies to identify potential synergistic partners and innovation opportunities for each agent through WI. ...
... The social network theory suggests that both strong and weak relationships are the key elements that characterize technological innovation networks, which will affect the extent and depth of technological innovation in companies. The study's empirical results support the view that "the influence of SI and WI is crucial in forming and optimizing complex technological innovation networks", which echoes studies by Jiang, C. [112] and Hansen, M. T. [77]. Specifically, SI has a stronger mediating effect than WI between HS and IICT, and WI has a stronger mediating effect than SI between VS and IICT. ...
The core driving force behind innovation in intelligent construction technology is synergistic relationships. It has become common practice to promote synergistic innovation through agent interaction and knowledge coupling in the development of intelligent construction technology. Drawing upon synergetics, social network theory, and the knowledge base view as theoretical frameworks, this research examines the impact of synergistic relationship, agent interaction, and knowledge coupling on innovation in intelligent construction technology. An empirical analysis of 186 questionnaires revealed the following: (1) regarding synergistic relationships, both horizontal synergy and vertical synergy significantly positively impact innovation in intelligent construction technology. (2) Concerning agent interaction, strong interaction serves as a mediator between horizontal synergy and innovation in intelligent construction technology, while weak interaction serves as a mediator between vertical synergy and innovation in intelligent construction technology. (3) Knowledge coupling has a positive moderating effect on innovation in intelligent construction technology under a strong interaction and a negative moderating effect on innovation in intelligent construction technology under a weak interaction. This study contributes to expanding the theory of synergistic relationships and its application in the context of intelligent construction technology. Furthermore, it provides practical insights and guidance for construction companies seeking to enhance innovation in intelligent construction technology through the utilization of agent interaction and knowledge coupling.
... Thus, actors bridging many structural holes can quickly acquire key resources and control over others, displaying greater performance than those bridging fewer holes. Based on this logic, previous research proposed and found that structural holes obtained by firms in strategic alliances have a positive effect on their innovation performance for two reasons [12,13]. First, compared to other firms, those filling structural holes may use the information advantage of the structural holes to engage in more innovation activities. ...
With the development of globalization, firms are facing increasingly fierce competition. In such an environment, innovation has become an inevitable choice for companies to survive and develop, and is a hot topic studied by management scholars. Especially in high-tech industries, innovation has a particularly prominent impact on a company’s survival and prosperity. Technical innovation involves high levels of uncertainty and requires significant amounts of time and resources, so firms typically engage in strategic alliances to conduct joint research and exchange knowledge and information. In this process, innovation networks become an important source of innovation for companies, and the transfer, sharing, integration, and absorption of technical knowledge are all accomplished through innovation networks. As an important structure in innovation networks, structural holes can provide novel and heterogeneous information and knowledge. firms occupying positions in structural holes have information and control advantages, and by integrating different information, firms are more likely to create new knowledge. Therefore, the study of structural holes has become a focus of management research, and can play a significant role in promoting the development of social network and social capital theory. This paper systematically studies structural holes and innovation performance by reviewing existing research and defining the basic concepts and classifications of structural holes. In addition, relevant studies on the relationship between structural holes and innovation performance are summarized from the organizational, team, and individual levels, with a focus on the relationship between structural holes and firm innovation performance. Finally, based on the shortcomings of current research on structural holes and innovation performance, future research prospects are proposed to further promote the development of research in this area.
... For instance, in contexts characterized by high complexity, actors should avoid excessive relational entanglements, as they can be costly to uphold (Uzzi, 1997) and hinder firms' agility and flexibility (Hagedoorn, 2006). Simultaneously, firms need to invest in exploring new, less dense relationships, which would allow them to access additional and nonredundant information (Hansen, 1999). ...
... SNA has emerged as an invaluable tool for delving into the intricacies of knowledge exchange, management, and utilization within organizational social structures [3,28]- [30]. Its applications span various areas, including the recent study of innovation [31,32], the assessment of network structures on knowledge transfer [4,22,33]- [36], and the role of social capital in knowledge sharing [37,38]. ...
Organizations increasingly recognize the pivotal role of knowledge and relationships in driving effective communication, collaboration, and innovation. However, existing approaches for knowledge-based social network analysis often rely on intrusive or labor-intensive data collection methods, which restricts their practical application. This study presents a novel framework for the generation and scrutiny of knowledge networks within organizations. Unlike the existing methods, our proposed approach leverages readily available administrative data, obviating the need for intrusive employee monitoring. This feature enables continuous organizational monitoring of intellectual capital and aids in predicting the ramifications of future staffing changes. Furthermore, our novel adaptable network weighting method provides a nuanced view of the knowledge and relational dynamics that are often not detected by traditional approaches. By utilizing flow-based centrality metrics, the model captures the emergent structural properties that may otherwise be overlooked. Thus the proposed framework offers a holistic, flexible, and efficient tool for mapping and understanding organizational knowledge dynamics.
... According to Hansen (1999) and Tsai (2001), the knowledge required for improved performance is acquired through social interactions and contact with others. In addition, social interactions might serve as information conveyors, so lowering the time, effort, and resources required to collect data for better organizational performance (Nikbin et al., 2021). ...
Work-family conflict has gained a growing amount of attention in the field of workplace stress, which can negatively impact employee health. Work-family equilibrium is difficult to maintain in contemporary industrialized societies due to the rising demands of both the workplace and the home. This study relied on self-determination theory, conservation of resources theory, psychological safety, innovative human resource management practices, and social exchange theory. It investigates the impacts of work-family conflict on psychological well-being and psychological safety. It also investigates the indirect effects of work-family conflict on organizational performance. This study investigates the influence of innovative human resource management on psychological safety, physical well-being, and social well-being. Finally, the indirect effects of innovative human resource management on organizational performance are examined. The data used in this research was gathered from a variety of Chinese industrial sources. The subjects of this research are China employees of a diverse range of companies. A total of 442 employees were randomly chosen utilizing a sampling technique. According to the findings, work-family conflict has a significant effect on psychological safety but not a significant impact on psychological well-being. Innovative human resource management has a significant effect on psychological well-being, physical well-being, and social well-being. Psychological safety and social well-being also impact significantly organizational performance. Finally, this study provided some important theoretical contributions and practical implications for the reference of industries and academics.
... Moreover, geographical proximity may also strengthen other forms of closeness, such as cognitive, organizational, scientific, and technological proximity (Boschma, 2005;Hansen, 1999), that are essential to the learning process, the successful generation and exploitation of knowledge via recombination and exchange among organizations. Laursen et al. (2011) found that spatial closeness increases the likelihood of collaboration between universities and companies in general, especially for firms characterized by lower absorptive capacity. ...
Regional specialization is a complex evolutionary process in which new industries and technologies evolve from existing ones following a non-ergodic path-dependent branching process. Although the scientific literature acknowledges the role of universities in shaping both the industrial and technological trajectories of geographical regions, empirical studies analyzing the link with the emergence of a local industrial specialization are relatively few. Our work contributes to filling this gap by investigating the relationship between the stock of patents developed by universities in a specific technology and the subsequent industrial specialization of the hosting region in the same domain. The empirical setting focuses on all Italian provinces (i.e., the geographical areas at the third level of the NUTS classification) in the years from 1995 to 2018. We examine the effect of the local and the neighboring knowledge stocks on subsequent industry specializations identified through the revealed technology advantage index. The results indicate the presence of a positive and significant correlation, robust to the inclusion of multiple fixed effects and several alternative model specifications. Instrumental variable regressions suggest that a causal relationship is likely to exist. Patent stocks of universities located in neighboring geographical areas have also a positive impact on the specialization, although of a smaller magnitude. Moreover, the patenting activity of local universities has an additional positive effect in both southern geographical areas and academies with lower internationalization levels whereas no significant premium or penalty is detected for high-tech and low-tech patent fields.
... The literature further stresses how transmission and absorption hold no inherent value unless they lead to changes in behavior and/or to the development of ideas that lead to new behaviors (Davenport and Prusak 1998). Hansen (1999) suggested two strategies for the transfer of organizational knowledge: "codification" and "personalization". Through codification, all knowledge becomes standardized, structured and stored in information systems. ...
Despite the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the growth and development of companies, the high failure rate of these companies persists, and this correspondingly demands the attention of managers. Thus, to boost the company success rate, we may deploy certain approaches, for example predictive models, specifically for the SME innovation. This study aims to examine the variables that positively shape and contribute towards innovation of SMEs. Based on the Spinner innovation model, we explore how to predict the innovation of SMEs by applying the variables, namely knowledge creation, knowledge transfer, public knowledge management, private knowledge management and innovation. This study applied the data mining technique according to the cross industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM) method while the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS_Version28) served to analyze the data collected from 208 SME employees in Oporto, Portugal. The results demonstrate how the Spinner innovation model positively influences the contributions of the SMEs. This SME-dedicated model fosters the creation of knowledge between internal and external interactions and increases the capacity to predict the SME innovation by 56%.
... Disadvantages Strong Ties -Better access to resources (Chollet, 2006) -Redundant information (Fernández-Pérez, Verdú-Jóver, and Benitez-Amado, 2013) -Good source of private information (Uzzi and Lancaster, 2003) -Circulation of outdated information (Nybakk, Lunnan, Jenssen, and Crespell, 2013) -Provide emotional support and encouragement (Klyver and Schøtt, 2011) Weak Ties -Diversified resources (Newbert, Tornikoski, and Quigley, 2013) -Difficulty in assembling resources (Stam, Arzlanian, and Elfring, 2014) -Good source of public information (Uzzi and Lancaster, 2003) -Difficulties in transmitting complex knowledge (Hansen, 1999) ...
... 42 Empirical research has demonstrated that frequent contact between members is valuable for mobilizing resources 43 or sharing knowledge. 44 It is worth noting that network structure determines the availability of knowledge, while communication frequency determines the extent of knowledge accessibility. 20,45 Within the scope of communication networks addressed in this study, network centralization is investigated through a structural lens, while tie strength is examined from a relational standpoint. ...
Purpose
Recent research has focused on the impact of communication networks on the performance of construction project teams, attempting empirical exploration from various social network analysis perspectives. However, there is still a significant gap in understanding the variations in performance and the mechanisms for teams using different communication networks. Drawing from organizational learning theory and social network theory, this study, based on the Input-Mediator-Output (IMO) model, explores the effects of the interaction between centralization and tie strength in communication networks on team performance, as well as the mediating mechanisms of knowledge sharing behavior and team resilience performance in engineering project teams.
Methods
Drawing on classic group communication experiment, we design an online communication and collaboration platform to simulate the execution of a construction engineering project. Finally, data was collected through the communication experiment with 720 participants, and hypotheses were tested using ANOVA and PROCESS.
Results
The results indicate that under conditions of weak tie strength, centralized communication networks yield higher performance. Conversely, under conditions of strong tie strength, decentralized communication networks demonstrate superior performance. Furthermore, this study also verifies the mediating role of knowledge sharing behavior and team resilience performance when tie strength is strong.
Conclusion
This study focuses on engineering project team, exploring the evolutionary development of knowledge sharing behavior and team resilience performance from the perspective of the interaction of communication network structural characteristics, as well as the paths to enhancing team performance. Our research results highlight the interactive effects of structural indicators and relational indicators of communication networks, revealing the mechanism by which the structure of communication networks impacts team performance. Additionally, from the perspectives of forming and timely adjusting team communication models, and motivating and supporting employee communication behavior, our study provides practical insights for project managers and relevant administrators.
... While the purpose of a BE is multifaceted, gaining competitive advantages takes precedence [54,153]. It aims to foster innovation among its members, facilitate efficient value creation, gain competitive advantages, and optimize the utilization of social resources [57]. ...
In recent decades, the term “ecosystem” has garnered substantial attention in scholarly and managerial discourse, featuring prominently in academic and applied contexts. While individual scholars have made significant contributions to the study of various types of ecosystem, there appears to be a research gap marked by a lack of comprehensive synthesis and refinement of findings across diverse ecosystems. This paper systematically addresses this gap through a hybrid methodology, employing bibliometric and content analyses to systematically review the literature from 1993 to 2023. The primary research aim is to critically examine theoretical studies on different ecosystem types, specifically focusing on business, innovation, and platform ecosystems. The methodology of this study involves a content review of the identified literature, combining quantitative bibliometric analyses to differentiate patterns and content analysis for in-depth exploration. The core findings center on refining and summarizing the definitions of business, innovation, and platform ecosystems, shedding light on both commonalities and distinctions. Notably, the research unveils shared characteristics such as openness and diversity across these ecosystems while highlighting significant differences in terms of participants and objectives. Furthermore, the paper delves into the interconnections within these three ecosystem types, offering insights into their dynamics and paving the way for discussions on future research directions. This comprehensive examination not only advances our understanding of business, innovation, and platform ecosystems but also lays the groundwork for future scholarly inquiries in this dynamic and evolving field.
... Ces distinctions entre « liens forts » et « liens faibles » d'une part et entre « liens professionnels » et « liens amicaux ou familiaux » d'autre part sont reprises par certain·e·s auteur·ice·s (Hansen, 1999 ;Ahuja, 2000 ;Fontes et al., 2009). La première est établie en fonction de la durée, de l'intensité émotionnelle des liens et de l'intimité et des services réciproques. ...
Numerous projects, which today are described as social innovations, are being developed in response to the recent crises to meet various unsatisfied social needs (housing, climate, ageing, inequalities, etc.). Their highly collective nature implies a better understanding of the ways in which the partners involved in these projects are connected, which we propose to do using the relational chain method. The data collected using this method highlights the significant use of non-personal arrangements (circles and calls for projects) to obtain the support of institutions (local authorities) or organisations (foundations); interpersonal relationships—essentially professional—appear to be mobilised less frequently and mainly to access the world of research.
De nombreux projets qualifiés aujourd'hui d'innovation sociale se développent face aux crises récentes pour répondre à différents besoins sociaux non satisfaits (logement, climat, vieillissement, inégalités, etc.). Leur nature éminemment collective implique de mieux comprendre les modalités de mise en relation des partenaires impliqués dans ces projets, ce que nous nous proposons de faire en mobilisant la méthode des chaines relationnelles. Les données collectées grâce à cette méthode mettent en évidence le recours important aux dispositifs non personnels (cercles de l'ESS et appels à projets) pour obtenir le support d'institutions (collectivités) ou d'organisations (fondations) ; les relations interpersonnelles-essentiellement professionnelles-apparaissent quant à elles mobilisées plus rarement et principalement pour accéder au monde de la recherche.
... Thus, the formation and preservation of social capital require interaction (Adler & Kwon, 2002). Specifically, the information from ICT tools must be analysed and transformed into knowledge that the organisation can use (Hansen, 1999). Hence, the information generated by tools such as ERP must be conveyed to the strategic part of the organisation, interpreted, contextualised and transformed into actionable knowledge that modifies the patterns of behaviour and works within the operational core of the organisation (Lengnick- Hall & Lengnick-Hall, 2006). ...
A key trend in recent decades is a growing standardisation of tangible digital resources. This trend coexists with development in the most advanced organisations of high-level technological, human and organisational resources teams built around advanced digital solutions. Digitisation has increased information asymmetries in organisations. However, it has changed the nature of the assets that support them. Accordingly, their effects are independent if unaccompanied by complementary investments in organisational design and human capital. This article focuses on relationships between information and cognitive asymmetries, their effects on developing strategic capabilities and their impact on competitive position. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis was run on a data set of 418 Spanish tourism firms. The results show the positive effects of the interaction between human resources and information assets in strengthening the competitive position of modern organisations.
... Zhao & Grier (1991) reveals that R&D intensity increases technology transfer, while funding and employee mobility hinder technology transfer. Hansen (1999) argues that technology transfer depends on social network ties and the complexity of knowledge. Weak interunit ties hinder the transfer of complex knowledge but can accelerate the transfer speed of less complex knowledge. ...
This study examines the actual impact of Communist Party secretaries’ prior overseas experience on the technology transfer scale (TTS) in universities. The results reveal that, after a secretary with prior overseas experience takes office, the university’s TTS significantly increases. This positive impact is relatively more pronounced in the short term, which is mainly manifested in non-key universities and universities located in underdeveloped regions. Compared to visiting scholars, secretaries, once they have studied abroad, have a more significant impact on the university’s TTS. The secretary’s overseas experience does not have any significant impact on the fundraising and input of research funds. However, that experience significantly enhances the enthusiasm of research personnel and R&D technical efficiency, thereby causing a positive impact on the university’s TTS. The research conclusions of this study significantly enrich the existing literature regarding the influencing factors of TTS, introducing a novel perspective on university leaders’ overseas experiences.
... It facilitates the interactions and knowledge exchange between people from different divisions (Gray et al., 2015;Ivarsson et al., 2017). Interactions between sub-units allow the sharing of exclusive knowledge with other sub-units, positively contributing to problem solving and facilitating tacit knowledge transfer between different functions with strong coordination needs, such as between manufacturing and R&D (Hansen, 1999;Ivarsson et al., 2017). Prior literature has acknowledged that the spatial proximity of units positively affects their performance (Gray et al., 2015;Rawley & Seamans, 2020). ...
Global location choices for foreign direct investments by MNCs aim to benefit both from the advantages of collocation with other activities of the firm (internal agglomeration) and the advantages of proximity to local industry clusters of similar activities (external agglomeration). We submit that there are important trade-offs between internal and external agglomeration because internal knowledge transfer associated with collocation of various value-chain activities of the MNC is confronted with greater risk of knowledge spillovers to rival firms if there is a substantial local cluster. Moreover, we argue that the international connectivity of a location reduces the importance of local agglomeration as a driver of investment location decisions because connectivity allows the MNC to reap benefits from agglomeration at a distance through the (temporary) transfer of people and knowledge. Connectivity changes the trade-offs between internal and external agglomeration because it enhances the spatial reach of internal agglomeration more than external agglomeration. The influence of connectivity is greater for service-related value-chain activities than for production-related activities. We find support for these hypotheses in an analysis of 38,873 greenfield cross-border investment decisions across diverse value-chain activities and industries in 71 global cities, 2008–2016.
... La escala de medición de la capacidad de adquisición de conocimiento del exterior se compone de cuatro ítems, generados a partir de la literatura sobre adquisición de conocimiento (Bierly y Hämäläinen, 1995;Lyles y Salk, 1996;George et al., 2001;Stock et al., 2001;Almeida et al., 2003;Caloghirou et al., 2004;Chen, 2004). Para el desarrollo de los indicadores de las escalas de comunicación y coordinación nos basamos en los estudios de Gresov y Stephens (1993), Ghoshal et al. (1994), Szulanski (1996), Hansen (1999), Tsai (2002) y Cavusgil et al. (2003). Para medir la capacidad de asimilar y compartir conocimiento de los miembros de I+D nos basamos en los estudios realizados por Leonard-Barton y Deschamps (1998), Szulanski (1996), Kostova (1999), Gupta y Govindarajan (2000), Osterloh y Frey (2000), Steensma y Lyles (2000), Wang et al. (2001), Minbaeva et al. (2003), realizando las adaptaciones necesarias a las características de nuestro estudio. ...
... Knowledge sharing relies on relationships as an important factor. That's why Hansen (1999) 5 investigated the effect of the interpersonal relationship network on knowledge sharing, then Reagans & Mcevily(2003) 6 emphasized that companies must understand the dynamics of relationships, which contributes to increasing cooperation between individuals. And this cooperation requires effective and rigorous training. ...
This study aims to investigate the impact of the Training and Information Technology variables on Knowledge Sharing using a case study on the ENIE company in Sidi Bel Abbes (western Algeria) by distributing 307 questionnaires to a random sample of employees, and data processing through the SPSS program, so that the results indicated that there is a positive impact between Training and Information Technology on Knowledge Sharing, and the study concluded with a different scientific contribution from previous studies about the importance of Training in improving cooperation relations between employees and sharing their knowledge and the importance of using Information Technology in this, especially during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
... At the end of the 19th century, Francis Galton stated 35 "until the phenomena of any branch of knowledge have been submitted to measurement and number, it cannot assume the status and dignity of science" (Galton, 1879). American psychologist James Mckeen Cattell stated that, "Psychology cannot attain the certainty and exactness of the 40 physical sciences If psychology and other qualitative, social science disciplines desire scientific legitimacy, it seems that practitioners must limit their inquiries to quantifiable, objective phenomenon and fact. ...
This article aims to defend the thesis according to which it is possible to quantify the psychological damage of a person. To do so, it proposes a hypothetical case in order to analyze a borderline situation. In this situation, it will be necessary to take into account two scenarios: (i) the legal scenario of litigation and (ii) the social implications for the person concerned. Once the case has been reconstructed, it is intended to point out a way of analysis based on what is known in sociology as social capital; then, a psychometric analysis model of the damage will be proposed and the implications in socioeconomic terms will be explained. Finally, based on the reading of the hypothetical case, a discussion that helps to understand the paradox between determinism and freedom will be presented as well as an optimized mathematical structure.
... Several researchers have shown how interpersonal relationships affect individual outcomes (c.f., Brass, 1984;Burt, 1992), and studies have shown how individual characteristics can affect interpersonal relationships (Mehra, Kilduff & Brass, 2001,). Among others, Hansen (1999) and Reagans, Zuckerman, and McEvily (2004) have investigated interpersonal relationships and group outcomes, while Tsai and Ghoshal (1998) and Tsai (2001) have shown that intergroup relationships affect group outcomes. In addition, there are many studies of interorganizational relationships and organizational outcomes (c.f., Uzzi, 1997;Gulati, 1995). ...
... Las teorías de la innovación y las redes sociales aún no han abordado este problema. La investigación en redes sociales se centra principalmente en el uso de vínculos fuertes para lograr intercambios profundos de conocimiento y aprendizaje efectivo, y solo está empezando a abordar cómo los grupos con vínculos comparativamente débiles pueden lograr resultados innovadores (Hansen, 1999). La investigación sobre la innovación ha examinado principalmente grupos colocados en los cuales los lazos son comparativamente fuertes (Clark & Wheelwright, 1992). ...
La investigación científica desde la historia ha sido el soporte principal del
desarrollo científico y tecnológico de la humanidad. Cabrera y Arguero (2011, pp.
1)) refieren que “la tecnología puede ser definida como la reproducción sistemática
de los prototipos nacidos de los proyectos de investigación y desarrollo,
considerando tecnología como un proceso cuando está refiriéndose a las
actividades que realiza el hombre para unir el conocimiento científico, con la
tecnológico, el técnico y el empírico”.
This chapter investigates motivational language of school administrators and its effect on tacit knowledge sharing - which may hold vital and critical importance – by teachers at schools. While doing this, the contextual factors regarding organisational culture, such as the employee voice and perceived psychological safety are also taken into consideration. It is expected that the use of a motivational language by administrators that reduces uncertainty and helps create understanding and empathy, and which thus forms a positive environment that increase employee voice, will also have an effect on tacit knowledge sharing. Additionally, the effect of motivational language can be enhanced through psychological safety perceived by the employees, which in turn is dependent on the work environment. As such, a higher perception of psychological safety will tend to increase employee voice and the level tacit knowledge sharing. Finally, implications for knowledge literature and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.
Objetivo: dar a conocer la influencia de aspectos claves como el marketing emprendedor, las capacidades de la red, la estructura de la red y la fortaleza del enlace en el desempeño internacional de los emprendimientos de alta tecnología en Colombia. A su vez, se busca contribuir a la literatura sobre este sector dada las oportunidades que representa en la diversificación de la oferta exportable. Método: es un estudio correlacional con enfoque cuantitativo de corte trasversal. Se recolectó la información a través de una encuesta estructurada compuesta por 42 ítems y aplicada a una muestra de 37 directivos de empresas de alta tecnología en Colombia. Resultados: los hallazgos permiten caracterizar de manera parcial el sector de alta tecnología en el país y evidencia que todas las hipótesis guardan relación entre sí y tienen una influencia positiva frente al rendimiento internacional, siendo la variable más representativa el marketing emprendedor por la contribución hacia el desempeño internacional. Conclusiones: el sector de alta tecnología reviste de grandes oportunidades a nivel internacional, por lo tanto, es de interés sensibilizar y realizar procesos de acompañamiento para fortalecer las variables del presente estudio en aras de incrementar la participación de estas empresas en el contexto internacional.
Purpose
This study aims to explore the relationship between network position and innovation under major environmental turbulence.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a difference-in-differences identification approach using the 2009 Industry Revitalization Plan in response to the global financial crisis as a natural experiment with a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2001 to 2017.
Findings
The findings show that a major environmental turbulence can facilitate firm innovation, and firms that occupy central positions in the interlock network show worse innovation performance while firms with high brokerage show better innovation performance.
Originality/value
The literature on environmental implication has largely focused on the threats and overlooked the potential opportunities. Moreover, social network literature has elaborated on the benefits and constraints of network positions from a static perspective but largely overlooked their implications facing environmental change. By exploring the bright side of major environmental turbulence and including this factor as a key contingency in exploring the effects of centrality and brokerage, this study integrates external environmental context with social network research and provides empirical evidence responding to the call for more attention to network dynamics and extends our understanding of the context-contingent network effects on firm innovation.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to answer a well-known but always-current question: what is the focus of entrepreneurship research? Usually, scholars address their attention toward the boundaries of entrepreneurship, and question the possible overlaps with innovation, on the one hand, and management, on the other. Despite their relevance, achieved results are still uncertain and opaque. To overcome these limits, the present paper adopts a different approach and, instead of delimiting the boundaries, looks for the heart of entrepreneurship research – H.E.R.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews entrepreneurship literature not as a whole, but according to four main strands of research, respectively dealing with the telos (the Greek word standing for the aims), psychological traits, the context and the network. The results are read and interpreted to intertwine them and look for H.E.R.
Findings
This paper achieves two main results. First, it is clarified that H.E.R. consists of the adoption of dynamic capabilities by entrepreneurs and their networks in an attempt to foresee the future; the effort to work on entrepreneurial opportunities to make them mature for stakeholders and the market, thus reducing the likeability bias; and the reference to a context characterized by unknown unknowns. Second, by looking for H.E.R., it is possible to clearly distinguish entrepreneurship from other fields of research.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is among the first that look for H.E.R., the heart – and not the boundaries – of entrepreneurship research. Originality consists of adopting an unusual perspective to advance entrepreneurship studies and contribute to the international debate about their focus.
Research Summary
This study investigates how people connecting with brokers who span structural holes in a firm's communication networks can enhance their innovative performance. Through sociometric data from a large software company, we observe that individuals who pay attention to information from brokers achieve higher innovative performance compared with those who ignore such information. The advantage of paying attention to brokers' information is more pronounced when people operate in highly constrained networks. Yet, our post hoc analysis reveals that people typically allocate less attention to information from brokers than from local colleagues—they systematically do the opposite of what they should do for innovative performance. Our findings regarding the role of attention for secondhand brokerage make significant contributions to studies of networks and innovation for behavioral strategy.
Managerial Summary
This study investigates how innovation is influenced by paying attention to brokers within a company. Brokers are individuals who bridge different groups, providing access to varied information. Analysis of internal data from a large software company reveals that employees who heed the ideas of brokers tend to be more innovative, especially in close‐knit networks. However, there is a notable tendency for people to ignore brokers, favoring information from familiar colleagues instead. This indicates a significant attention bias, where the potentially most valuable sources for innovation are often unattended. Our research highlights the critical need for a strategic approach to distributing attention within company networks, which can significantly boost innovative performance.
Purpose
An expatriate is a person living outside their native country and is physically mobile across international borders for professional or personal reasons, whether for a short or long time, whether organizationally sponsored or not. In the competitive and globalized world, expatriation helps organizations to sustain international competition. Based on the social capital theory, performance theory and organizational support theory, this study aims to explore the impact of intraorganizational social capital (IOSC) and perceived organizational support (POS) on expatriate job performance (EJP) along with the intervening role of Islamic work ethics (IWE).
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected from Expatriate employees working in UAE for at least three years among various knowledge-based industries. A total of 268 filled responses were received using the convenience sampling technique. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that POS and IOSC positively influence most EJP dimensions except demonstrating effect dimension and IWE acts as a partial mediator. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design, and the respondents are white color expatriates working in the knowledge-based industries across the United Arab Emirates. Various other business sectors, such as tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, oil and energy can be considered in the study context and longitudinal research designs can be adapted to generalize the findings.
Research limitations/implications
The study adopted a cross-sectional research design, and the respondents are white color expatriates working in the knowledge-based industries across the United Arab Emirates. Various other business sectors, such as tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, oil and energy, can be considered the study context and longitudinal research designs can be adopted to generalize the findings.
Practical implications
Human resource managers need to formulate their company policies so that a recruit is given orientation and training the existing workforce on the benefits of IWE, as it can be seen as developing employee morale and ethical behavior. Onboarding an expat from different regions is an expensive initiative for the organization. The organization should consider both tangible and intangible costs that go into the recruitment, selection and onboarding of an expat.
Originality/value
Very few studies have explored the role of IWE with a second-order EJP construct with the respondents from the knowledge-based industries of the UAE.
Knowledge management in universities is a dual process combining continuous learning and development of academic staff with the simultaneous transfer of knowledge to students. Collective capabilities and motivation of university employees to absorb and effectively apply knowledge underlie the so-called university absorptive capacity. However, characteristics perceived by workers and the level of absorptive capacity may contrast with the assessments based on university performance standards. The paper proposes and tests a dual method for judging on university absorptive capacity based on normative and perceived assessments. Methodologically, the study rests on knowledge management, the fundamental theoretical framework that covers the concept of absorptive capacity of an organization. Among the research methods are comparative analysis of university performance indicators and economic statistics. Empirical evidence includes data from the survey of 187 academic staff members of Ural Federal University (Ekaterinburg, Russia) and the Monitoring of Efficiency of Higher Educational Institutions in the RF in 2022–2023. Having performed content analysis, we identified the following evaluation parameters: the current level of employees’ knowledge and the potential for knowledge absorption in the organization. The first part of the methodology presents an algorithm for comparing the growth rates of normative performance indicators of the university in question with those of analogous universities. The second part deals with assessing absorptive capacity based on academic staff’s perceptions. The testing results indicate that there is a discrepancy between the normative and perceived assessments, which allowed us to propose a set of measures for adjusting the HR management model in a university.
Purpose
Many studies have investigated dynamic positions and their importance, but there is less attention paid to how to enter more central positions. Interorganizational relationships are an important factor in network structural change. In Chinese society, firms allocate significant human, financial and material resources towards cultivating guanxi. The purpose of this study is to explore whether and how the three aspects of guanxi, namely renqing, ganqing and xinyong, can make firms more central, and to examine the mediating role of interaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed method to collect data from 256 Chinese Cops (complex product systems) firms. And, hypotheses were tested using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0.
Findings
The results indicate that renqing, ganqing and xinyong have significant positive effects on the increase in centrality, but with varying magnitudes. Additionally, the interaction was found to mediate the relationship between the three aspects of guanxi (renqing, ganqing and xinyong) and the increase in centrality.
Originality/value
The study provides new insights to help firms become more central by combining guanxi (renqing, ganqing and xinyong) with change in centrality, enriching the literature on network dynamics and guanxi-related research. Moreover, the study provides managers with a clear understanding of how to use guanxi to make the firm more central in situations with limited resources.
The core objective of this study is to delve into the intricate dynamics among entrepreneurial orientation (EO), resource availability, powerful entrepreneurial networking, and marketing performance within the specific context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating within Indonesia’s Halal industry. By undertaking a comprehensive analysis of these distinct variables, our aim is to unveil the intricate interplay that characterizes their relationships, understand their individual impacts, and uncover potential theoretical implications. This research endeavor is driven by the ambition to broaden the existing knowledge landscape within this domain and provide valuable insights that hold significance for both industry practitioners and scholarly researchers. Adopting a content analysis approach, we methodically construct a robust conceptual framework. This framework is meticulously developed through the synthesis of a diverse array of carefully selected sources. This meticulous approach empowers us to establish a sturdy underpinning for our research, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics that govern the interconnections between EO, resource availability, powerful entrepreneurial networking, and marketing performance within the distinctive milieu of Halal-oriented SMEs in Indonesia.
Of the 260 responses from a survey of European multinationals, 94% believed that knowledge management requires employees to share what they know with others within the organization (Murray, 1999). Among the processes of knowledge management—creation, sharing, utilization and accumulation of knowledge—sharing is what differentiates organizational knowledge management from individual learning or knowledge acquisition. However, the process of sharing knowledge is often unnatural to many. Individuals will not share knowledge that is regarded to be of high value and importance. In fact, the natural tendency for individuals is to hoard knowledge or look suspiciously at the knowledge of others. Thus, incentive schemes—where employees receive incentives as a form of compensation for their contributions—are common programs in many organizations. Such schemes have met their fair share of success as well as failure in the field of knowledge management. On the one hand, the carrot and stick principle used in Siemens’ ShareNet project turned out to be a success (Ewing & Keenan, 2001). On the other hand, the redemption points used in Samsung Life Insurance’s Knowledge Mileage Program only resulted in the increasingly selfish behavior of its employees (Hyoung & Moon, 2002). Furthermore, despite the plethora of research on factors affecting knowledge sharing behavior, little concerns discovering effective ways to encourage individuals to voluntarily share their knowledge. Early studies on knowledge management began by trying to discover key factors pertaining to knowledge management in general, instead of knowledge sharing in particular, as summarized in Table 1. Although research on knowledge sharing started around the mid 1990s, it focused mainly on knowledge sharing at the group or organizational level in spite of the fact that knowledge itself actually originates from the individual. Even at the group or organizational level, most studies dealt with a specific knowledge type, such as best practices (Szulanski, 1996) or a specific context, such as between dispersed teams (Tsai, 2002). In addition, factors such as trust, willingness to share, information about the knowledge holder, and the level of codification of knowledge were considered in abstract. Although these factors are valuable, they require further empirical research before they could be used to explain the individual’s fundamental motivation to share knowledge. Thus, this study aims to develop an understanding of the factors that support or constrain the individual’s knowledge sharing behavior in the organization, with a special interest in the role of rewards. This is done according to Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975) Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), a widely accepted social psychology model that is used to explain almost any human behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980).
Catastrophic events can significantly disrupt businesses and, as a result, understanding how organizations adapt to a crisis is critical. Undeniably, leaders often play a crucial role in times of great uncertainty. Yet, it is unclear exactly how leaders can effectively guide organizations through a crisis. Extending theories of network brokerage and organizational adaptation research, we posit that compared to leaders creating structural holes in intra-organizational communication networks, those leaders bridging structural holes can build more effective communication networks with greater cohesion and higher efficiency. In turn, greater cohesion and higher efficiency subsequently drive organizational adaptation and business recovery in a multi-unit enterprise during the early outbreak of COVID-19. Our hypotheses are supported using multi-wave network surveys in 111 chain restaurants with over 3,000 employees. We demonstrate that, during a crisis, leaders can serve as a key architect to shape communication patterns to facilitate organizational adaptation to crises and drive business recovery with faster customer growth and continually decreasing personnel costs.
Cet article étudie la relation entre l’engagement organisationnel des designers digitaux et leur degré de partage des connaissances au sein de leur organisation. Afin de répondre à notre question de recherche, nous avons réalisé une enquête en ligne auprès de 487 concepteurs numériques français sur la période 2020-2021. Sur la base d’un modèle d’équations structurelles et d’une Macro PROCESS, notre analyse montre que l’engagement organisationnel normatif influence positivement le don de connaissances à travers (1) la collecte de connaissances et (2) l’engagement organisationnel affectif. Nous discutons nos résultats ainsi que leurs implications théoriques et managériales.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model explicating the development of expatriate social capital and its influence on expatriate effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer and adjustment. Drawing upon social capital theory and weak tie theory, we elucidate the process through which expatriate social capital facilitates expatriate knowledge transfer and adjustment via greater access of role information and social support.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviews and distills research on expatriate social capital development and proposes a conceptual model of expatriate effectiveness and suggests potential research avenues for global mobility scholars.
Findings
This study contributes to the understanding of the development of expatriate social capital in the host country and its impacts on expatriate effectiveness as a process. With regard to expatriates’ social capital accumulation, this study also highlights the important but less-known role of accompanying spouse/family members as expatriates’ weak tie enablers. We articulate a framework that outlines the sources of social capital for expatriates and the processes through which social capital transmits (via expatriates’ access to role information and social support) and then enhances expatriate effectiveness. This conceptual model aims to establish a basic “roadmap” for use by practitioners and researchers.
Research limitations/implications
Before the proposed conceptual model can be theoretically refined or extended by future research, its veracity needs to be tested empirically. Although we do not incorporate “time,” “personal characteristics” and “context” in our model, we recognize their potential importance and urge future researchers to incorporate them in studying the role of social capital on expatriate effectiveness.
Practical implications
A conceptual model is presented that enables multinational corporations (MNCs) to map their current (and future) strategies to enhance expatriate effectiveness by further strengthening the expatriate social capital.
Originality/value
Drawing upon social capital theory and weak tie theory, this paper links various sources of expatriate social capital to expatriates’ access to role information and social support in supporting expatriate effectiveness. From this, several avenues of future research are drawn.
This article focuses on the activities teams use to manage their organizational environment beyond their teams. We used semistructured interviews with 38 new-product team managers in high-technology companies, log data from two of these teams, and questionnaires completed by members of a different set of 45 new-product teams to generate and test hypotheses about teams' external activities. Results indicate that teams engage in vertical communications aimed at molding the views of top management, horizontal communication aimed at coordinating work and obtaining feedback, and horizontal communication aimed at general scanning of the technical and market environment. Organizational teams appear to develop distinct strategies toward their environment: some specialize in particular external activities, some remain isolated from the external environment, and others engage in multiple external activities. The paper shows that the type of external communication teams engage in, not just the amount, determines performance. Over time, teams following a comprehensive strategy enter positive cycles of external activity, internal processes, and performance that enable long-term team success.
This study of the complete life-spans of eight naturally-occurring teams began with the unexpected finding that several project groups, studied for another purpose, did not accomplish their work by progressing gradually through a universal series of stages, as traditional group development models would predict. Instead, teams progressed in a pattern of "punctuated equilibrium" through alternating inertia and revolution in the behaviors and themes through which they approached their work. The findings also suggested that groups' progress was triggered more by members' awareness of time and deadlines than by completion of an absolute amount of work in a specific developmental stage. The paper proposes a new model of group development that encompasses the timing and mechanisms of change as well as groups' dynamic relations with their contexts. Implications for theory, research, and practice are drawn.
The purpose of this work is to develop a systematic understanding of embeddedness and organization networks. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted at 23 entrepreneurial firms, I identify the components of embedded relationships and explicate the devices by which embeddedness shapes organizational and economic outcomes. The findings suggest that embeddedness is a logic of exchange that promotes economies of time, integrative agreements, Pareto improvements in allocative efficiency, and complex adaptation. These positive effects rise up to a threshold, however, after which embeddedness can derail economic performance by making firms vulnerable to exogenous shocks or insulating them from information that exists beyond their network. A framework is proposed that explains how these properties vary with the quality of social ties, the structure of the organization network, and an organization's structural position in the network.
This paper argues that an accurate cognition of informal networks can itself be a base of power, above and beyond power attributable to informal and formal structural positions. To explore this claim, a small entrepreneurial firm was studied. Perceptions of the friendship and advice networks were compared to "actual" networks. Those who had more accurate cognitions of the advice network were rated as more powerful by others in the organization, although accuracy of the friendship network was not related to reputational power.
This paper examines how the structure and content of individuals' networks on the job affect intraorganizational mobility. Consistent with prior research, we find that mobility is enhanced by having large, dense networks of informal ties for acquiring information and resources. However, studies of networks and organizational careers have overlooked the importance of informal ties in transmitting social identity and normative expectations within organizations, which is facilitated by networks with the opposite features: smaller size and greater density. We use this argument as the basis for developing a typology of network contents, and we document this interaction between network structure and content in analyses of mobility among employees of a high technology firm. We also show how the effects of tie duration on mobility vary across types of network ties. The implications of these findings for theory and research on networks and organizational mobility are discussed.
This paper demonstrates that the traditional categorization of innovation as either incremental or radical is incomplete and potentially misleading and does not account for the sometimes disastrous effects on industry incumbents of seemingly minor improvements in technological products. We examine such innovations more closely and, distinguishing between the components of a product and the ways they are integrated into the system that is the product "architecture," define them as innovations that change the architecture of a product without changing its components. We show that architectural innovations destroy the usefulness of the architectural knowledge of established firms, and that since architectural knowledge tends to become embedded in the structure and information-processing procedures of established organizations, this destruction is difficult for firms to recognize and hard to correct. Architectural innovation therefore presents established organizations with subtle challenges that may have significant competitive implications. We illustrate the concept's explanatory force through an empirical study of the semiconductor photolithographic alignment equipment industry, which has experienced a number of architectural innovations.
The capabilities of a firm, or any organization, lie primarily in the organizing principles by which individual and functional expertise is structured, coordinated, and communicated. Firms are social communities which use their relational structure and shared coding schemes to enhance the transfer and communication of new skills and capabilities. To replicate new knowledge in the absence of a social community is difficult. A classic demonstration is the well-studied problem of the transfer across country borders of manufacturing capabilities that support production of new product innovations. We show in this article that the degree of codification and how easily capabilities are taught has a significant influence on the speed of transfer. What makes the question of knowledge codification particularly interesting is that firms compete not only through the creation, replication, and transfer of their own knowledge, but also through their ability to imitate the product innovations of competitors. The capacity to speed the internal transfer of a production capability to new markets (e.g., those in other countries) is, consequently, of fundamental significance in a competitive environment. In the attempt to speed the internal transfer of knowledge, the dilemma arises that capabilities which can be easily communicated within the firm are more likely to be easily imitated by competitors. This relationship is tested by analyzing the effects of the ease of codifying and communicating a manufacturing capability not only on the time to its transfer, but also on the time to imitation of the new product. ’The determinants of the time to imitation are found to be the extent to which knowledge of the manufacturing processes is “common” among competitors, and the degree of continuous recombination of capabilities leading to improvement of the product or the manufacturing process. We support this interpretation by a discussion of the results from field research. A wider implication of these findings is the proposition that the transfer and recombination of organizational capabilities are the foundation of an evolutionary theory of the firm. A critical element limiting the expansion of a firm is that the competitive value of codifying knowledge leads to the selection of organizing principles that are not functional in all competitive environments. The pressure of speed is of critical importance to understand the evolutionary advantage of nonoptimal rules of coordinated action within a social community.
The literature on product development continues to grow. This research is varied and vibrant, yet large and fragmented. In this article we first organize the burgeoning product-development literature into three streams of research: product development as rational plan, communication web, and disciplined problem solving. Second, we synthesize research findings into a model of factors affecting the success of product development. This model highlights the distinction between process performance and product effectiveness and the importance of agents, including team members, project leaders, senior management, customers, and suppliers, whose behavior affects these outcomes. Third, we indicate potential paths for future research based on the concepts and links that are missing or not well defined in the model.
Little attention has been given to the measurement of the concept of tie strength. Using survey data on friendship ties, we
apply multiple indicator techniques to construct and validate measures of tie strength. Vie conclude that: (1) there may be
two distinct aspects of tie strength, having to do with the time spent in a relationship and the depth of the relationship;
(2) a measure of “closeness” or intensity is the best indicator of strength; (3) there are difficulties with frequency and
duration of contact as indicators of strength; (4) predictors of strength (e.g., kinship, neighboring) are not especially
strongly related to the concept; and (5) the constructed measures of strength, particularly the one of “time spent,” are valid
in that they are related to predictor variables in anticipated directions.
Microlevel mobility research argues that job changes depend on the job seeker's social network and social ties. Job seekers find better jobs by contacting persons with superior knowledge and influence. These contact persons are usually others with whom the job seeker has only weak ties. Life history data from Germany demonstrate the necessity of considering the multidimensional nature of social ties and the interaction between social ties and status of prior job when predicting job mobility. Results suggest some modification of micromobility theory because individuals with high status prior jobs benefit from weak social ties, whereas individuals with low status prior jobs do not.
The research described in this article focuses on one important aspect of the innovation process - the need for the innovating system to gather information from and transmit information to several external information areas. Special boundary roles evolve in the organization's communication network to fulfill the essential function of linking the organization's internal network to external sources of information. These boundary roles occur at several organizational boundaries, and their distribution within the organization is contingent on the nature of the organization's work. This research supports literature on boundary spanning in general and highlights the importance of boundary roles in the process of innovation.
In contrast to the prevailing image that elements in organizations are coupled through dense, tight linkages, it is proposed that elements are often tied together frequently and loosely. Using educational organizations as a case in point, it is argued that the concept of loose coupling incorporates a surprising number of disparate observations about organizations, suggests novel functions, creates stubborn problems for methodologists, and generates intriguing questions for scholars. Sample studies of loose coupling are suggested and research priorities are posed to foster cumulative work with this concept.
This paper proposes that organizations overcome problems of market uncertainty by adopting a principle of exclusivity in selecting exchange partners. This general proposition in turn implies two specific hypotheses. First, the greater the market uncertainty, the more that organizations engage in exchange relations with those with whom they have transacted in the past. Second, the greater the uncertainty, the more that organizations engage in transactions with those of similar status. A study of investment banking relationships in the investment grade and non-investment-grade debt markets from 1981 to 1987 provides support for the hypotheses. The implications of this analysis for stratification and concentration in the market are discussed.
The ability to transfer best practices intemally is critical to a firm's ability to build competitive advantage through the appropriation of rents from scarce internal knowledge. Just as a firm's distinctive competencies might be difficult for other firms to imitate, its best practices could be difficult to imitate internally. Yet, little systematic attention has been paid to such intemal stickiness. The author analyzes intemal stickiness of knowledge transfer and tests the resulting model using canonical correlation analysis of a data set consisting of 271 observations of 122 best-practice transfers in eight companies. Contrary to conventional wisdom that blames primarily motivational factors, the study findings show the major barriers to internal knowledge transfer to be knowledge-related factors such as the recipient's lack of absorptive capacity, causal ambiguity, and an arduous relationship between the source and the recipient. The identification and transfer of best practices is emerging as one of the most important and widespread practical management issues of the latter half of the 1990s. Armed with meaningful, detailed performance data, firms that use fact- based management methods such as TQM, bench- marking, and process reengineering can regularly compare the perfonnance of their units along operational dimensions. Sparse but unequivocal evidence suggests that such comparisons often reveal surprising perfonnance differences between units, indicating a need to improve knowledge utilization within the firm (e.g., Chew, Bresnahan, and Clark, 1990).' Because intemal transfers typi-
The relationship between social networks and conflict in 20 organizational units was investigated. Results indicated that low-conflict organizations are characterized by higher numbers of intergroup strong ties, measured as frequent contacts, than are high-conflict organizations. Further, comparison of the network configuration of the organizations studied suggested that high- and low-conflict organizations feature significantly different sociometric structures. As a ubiquitous feature of social systems, intergroup conflict has been studied from a variety of perspectives with a wide array of methodologies. Exchange theory, game theory, Marxist and functionalist perspectives, and psychiatric and psychological approaches are all represented in the extant research. The different methodological approaches taken include laboratory experiments, survey research, and case and ethnological studies. Despite the considerable variety of approaches available, most studies are concentrated in a few traditional areas, although a number of promising new avenues await investigation. The present study followed one of those avenues by examining the relationship between social networks and conflict in organizations across 20 organizations. The bulk of empirical research on conflict in organizations has been micro in orientation, and experimental or quasiexperimental paradigms have predominated. Despite prominent psychologists' admission that studies of intergroup conflict need to consider structural variables (Alderfer & Smith, 1982; Billig, 1976; Ring, 1967; Steiner, 1974), most research has continued to focus on attitudes, traits, or interpersonal dynamics, with occasional work on ethnicity or organizational subunits. Consistent with this micro focus, empirical studies of conflict have been limited to people or groups within single organizations. To date, research analyzing antecedents or correlates of conflict across a sample of organizations has not taken place. This lack limits theoretical knowledge as well as practical application because considering only one organization at a time makes it difficult to tell whether levels of conflict are comparatively high or
This study investigated the informal networks of white and minority managers. Minority managers had more racially heterogeneous and fewer intimate network relationships. Within the minority group, differences in advancement potential were associated with different network configurations: high-potential individuals balanced same- and cross-race contacts; others had networks dominated by ties to whites. High-potential minorities also had more contacts outside their groups, fewer high-status ties, and less overlap between their social and instrumental circles. Relative to whites, minority managers viewed similar network characteristics as providing less access to career benefits.
Traditional approaches to institutionalization do not provide an adequate explanation of cultural persistence. A much more adequate explanation can be found in the ethnomethodological approach to institutionalization, defining acts which are both objective (potentially repeatable by other actors without changing the meaning) and exterior (intersubjectively defined so that they can be viewed as part of external reality) as highly institutionalized. Three levels of institutionalization were created in the autokinetic situation to permit examination of the effects of institutionalization on three aspects of cultural persistence: generational uniformity of cultural understandings, maintenance of these understandings, and resistance of these understandings to change. Three separate experiments were conducted to examine these aspects of cultural persistence. Strong support was found for the predictions that the greater the degree of institutionalization, the greater the generational uniformity, maintenance, and resistance to change of cultural understandings. Implications of these findings for earlier approaches to institutionalization are discussed.
This paper attempts to explain why innovating firms often fail to obtain significant economic returns from an innovation, while customers, imitators and other industry participants benefit Business strategy — particularly as it relates to the firm's decision to integrate and collaborate — is shown to be an important factor. The paper demonstrates that when imitation is easy, markets don't work well, and the profits from innovation may accrue to the owners of certain complementary assets, rather than to the developers of the intellectual property. This speaks to the need, in certain cases, for the innovating firm to establish a prior position in these complementary assets. The paper also indicates that innovators with new products and processes which provide value to consumers may sometimes be so ill positioned in the market that they necessarily will fail. The analysis provides a theoretical foundation for the proposition that manufacturing often matters, particularly to innovating nations. Innovating firms without the requisite manufacturing and related capacities may die, even though they are the best at innovation. Implications for trade policy and domestic economic policy are examined.
Part I. Introduction: Networks, Relations, and Structure: 1. Relations and networks in the social and behavioral sciences 2. Social network data: collection and application Part II. Mathematical Representations of Social Networks: 3. Notation 4. Graphs and matrixes Part III. Structural and Locational Properties: 5. Centrality, prestige, and related actor and group measures 6. Structural balance, clusterability, and transitivity 7. Cohesive subgroups 8. Affiliations, co-memberships, and overlapping subgroups Part IV. Roles and Positions: 9. Structural equivalence 10. Blockmodels 11. Relational algebras 12. Network positions and roles Part V. Dyadic and Triadic Methods: 13. Dyads 14. Triads Part VI. Statistical Dyadic Interaction Models: 15. Statistical analysis of single relational networks 16. Stochastic blockmodels and goodness-of-fit indices Part VII. Epilogue: 17. Future directions.
This paper contrasts two theoretical models for firms' achieving fast adaptation through product innovation. The compression model assumes a well-known, rational process and relies on squeezing together or compressing the sequential steps of such a process. The experiential model assumes an uncertain process and relies on improvisation, real-time experience, and flexibility. The two models are tested using data from 72 product development projects drawn from European, Asian, and U.S. computer firms. The results indicate that using an experiential strategy of multiple design iterations, extensive testing, frequent project milestones, a powerful project leader, and a multifunctional team accelerates product development. In contrast, the compression strategy of supplier involvement, use of computer-aided design, and overlapping development steps describes fast pace only for mature industry segments. The results also show that planning and rewarding for schedule attainment are ineffective ways of accelerating pace. We conclude with linkages to punctuated equilibrium and selection models of adaptation, fast organizational processes, organic versus improvisational structures, and complexity theory.
This review of the state of research on product development as of the mid-1990s finds that it is quite fragmented, and sets out to create a framework by which to view the literature. Most empirical research can be grouped into three views of the nature of the product development process: rational plan, communication web, or disciplined problem solving. Based on the prior research, a model of success factors is developed, which highlights the value of various stakeholders, or agents, and distinguishes between success in the process and a successful product. The focus on product development as successful when rationally planned identified the value of organizational characteristics such as cross-functional teams and product champions, and the importance of market conditions. Research on the role of communication, within the product development team and externally, focused on the importance of a communication strategy and the need for gatekeepers and boundary spanners on the team. The disciplined problem solving approach emerged first in studies of Japanese product development processes. This approach requires strong leadership and a clear vision. With a clear goal in mind, and input from various functions, there is also autonomy to experiment, going through multiple problem solving iterations. These research streams overlap, and from that commonality a model is developed herein that emphasizes the importance of such factors as cross-functional teams, strong leadership, resource availability and information flow. Three issues for future product development research are (1) the role of senior managers; (2) the organization of work (e.g., improvision vs planning); and (3) the connections and dependencies between the development process, market factors, effective products and financial performance.
A combinatorial network model is constructed to describe the information structure of job finding in a homogeneous job market. A fundamental distinction is drawn between strong and weak contacts: strong contacts are assumed to have strict priority as recipients of information about the existence of job vacancies, while maintenance of a given strong contact requires more time than does maintenance of a weak contact. Facing a limited time-budget, each individual confronts a tradeoff between these two possible ways of investing time. In the model presently investigated, each individual is assumed to develop his contacts so as to maximize probability of getting some new job in the event that he loses his present job. Concepts of both stability and optimality are defined. It is found that if the probability of becoming jobless is low (u <<1), then a situation where all individuals choose only weak ties ("all-weak network") will be stable and will be a Pareto optimum under the maximizing behavior assumed. Also, all-weak networks are the only Pareto optima in this case. For u near 1, a different situation obtains: now networks containing only strong ties will be stable and all-weak networks will be unstable. In this second limiting case, however, stability and optimality do not coincide: all-strong networks are not Pareto optimal.
This paper contributes with empirical findings to European co-inventorship location and geographical coincidence of co-patenting networks. Based on EPO co-patenting information for the reference period 2000-2004, we analyze the spatial con figuration of 44 technology-specific co-inventorship networks. European co-inventorship (co-patenting) activity is spatially linked to 1259 European NUTS3 units (EU25+CH+NO) and their NUTS1 regions by inventor location. We extract 7.135.117 EPO co-patenting linkages from our own relational database that makes use of the OECD RegPAT (2009) files. The matching between International Patent Classification (IPC) subclasses and 44 technology fields is based on the ISI-SPRU-OST-concordance. We con firm the hypothesis that the 44 co-inventorship networks differ in their overall size (nodes, linkages, self-loops) and that they are dominated by similar groupings of regions. The paper offers statistical evidence for the presence of highly localized European co-inventorship networks for all 44 technology fields, as the majority of linkages between NUTS3 units (counties and districts) are within the same NUTS1 regions. Accordingly, our findings helps to understand general presence of positive spatial autocorrelation in regional patent data. Our analysis explicitly accounts for different network centrality measures (betweenness, degree, eigenvector). Spearman rank correlation coefficients for all 44 technology fields confirm that most co-patenting networks co-locate in those regions that are central in several technology-specific co-patenting networks. These findings support the hypothesis that leading European regions are indeed multi- filed network nodes and that most research collaboration is taking place in dense co-patenting networks. --
To solve a problem, needed information and problem-solving capabilities must be brought together. Often the information used in technical problem solving is costly to acquire, transfer, and use in a new location—is, in our terms, “sticky.” In this paper we explore the impact of information stickiness on the locus of innovation-related problem solving. We find, first, that when sticky information needed by problem solvers is held at one site only, problem solving will be carried out at that locus, other things being equal. Second, when more than one locus of sticky information is called upon by problem solvers, the locus of problem solving may iterate among these sites as problem solving proceeds. When the costs of such iteration are high, then, third, problems that draw upon multiple sites of sticky information will sometimes be “task partitioned” into subproblems that each draw on only one such locus, and/or, fourth, investments will be made to reduce the stickiness of information at some locations.
Information stickiness appears to affect a number of issues of importance to researchers and practitioners. Among these are patterns in the diffusion of information, the specialization of firms, the locus of innovation, and the nature of problems selected by problem solvers.
The following sections are included:IntroductionTechnology Transfer and the Production of KnowledgeThe SampleDefinition of Technology Transfer CostsTransfer Costs: Data and HypothesesThe Level of Transfer CostsTechnology/Transferor CharacteristicsTransferee and Host Country CharacteristicsDeterminants of the Cost of International Technology Transfer: Tests and ResultsThe ModelStatistical Tests: Phase IStatistical Tests: Phase IIDefferences between International and Domestic Technology TransferConclusion
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