The role of technology and socialization in linking organizational context and knowledge conversion: The case of Malaysian Service Organizations

Abstract This case study illustrates the effects of organizational contexts (e.g., structure and climate) on knowledge conversion, along with the mediating effect of socialization and the moderating impact of technology. Using the hierarchical regression methodology in the Malaysian service sector, this article argues that socialization has a significant effect on knowledge conversion. The case analysis underlines the issue that arise when socialization serves as both a dependent variable (to organizational context variables) and an independent (mediating) variable (to knowledge conversion). However, technology does not act as a moderator between organizational context and knowledge conversion. This paper brings them together to explain their linkage through mediation by socialization and moderation by technology, and to quantify the relationship.

[1]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[2]  Sajjad M. Jasimuddin,et al.  Storage of Transferred Knowledge or Transfer of Stored Knowledge: Which Direction? If Both, Then How? , 2005, Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[3]  Darren George,et al.  SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference , 1998 .

[4]  Mark A. Shadur,et al.  The Relationship between Organizational Climate and Employee Perceptions of Involvement , 1999 .

[5]  Nurist Surayya.  Children Go Online” di Indonesia, Apa dan Bagaimana? , 2014 .

[6]  Sajjad M. Jasimuddin,et al.  What motivates Organisational Knowledge Transfer? Some Lessons from a UK-Based Multinational , 2006, J. Inf. Knowl. Manag..

[7]  Ikramul Hasan,et al.  Organizational culture, structure, technology infrastructure and knowledge sharing , 2015 .

[8]  Jan-Erik Johanson,et al.  Role of knowledge conversion and social networks in team performance , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[9]  L. Empson.  Fear of Exploitation and Fear of Contamination: Impediments to Knowledge Transfer in Mergers between Professional Service Firms , 2001 .

[10]  William David Salisbury,et al.  Understanding the influence of organizational change strategies on information technology and knowledge management strategies , 2001, Decis. Support Syst..

[11]  J. Klein,et al.  The paradox of using tacit and explicit knowledge: strategies to face dilemmas , 2005 .

[12]  Sajjad M. Jasimuddin,et al.  A holistic view of knowledge management strategy , 2008, J. Knowl. Manag..

[13]  Tim Morris,et al.  Organization and Expertise: An Exploration of Knowledge Management in Accounting and Consulting Firms , 1998 .

[14]  Ikujiro Nonaka,et al.  The knowledge-creating theory revisited: knowledge creation as a synthesizing process , 2003 .

[15]  Tim Morris,et al.  Organisation and expertise: An exploration of knowledge bases and the management of accounting , 1998 .

[16]  Sajjad M. Jasimuddin,et al.  Exploring knowledge transfer mechanisms: The case of a UK-based group within a high-tech global corporation , 2007, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[17]  Sajjad M. Jasimuddin,et al.  Knowledge transfer frameworks: an extension incorporating knowledge repositories and knowledge administration , 2012, Inf. Syst. J..

[18]  M. Sarvary.  Knowledge Management and Competition in the Consulting Industry , 1999 .

[19]  Tom Butler,et al.  Understanding the design of information technologies for knowledge management in organizations: a pragmatic perspective , 2007, Inf. Syst. J..

[20]  I. Nonaka,et al.  How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation , 1995 .

[21]  Philippe Byosiere,et al.  Knowledge domains and knowledge conversion: an empirical investigation , 2008, J. Knowl. Manag..

[22]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[23]  Neil F. Doherty,et al.  An holistic approach to understanding the changing nature of organisational structure , 2010, Inf. Technol. People.

[24]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  What's your strategy for managing knowledge? , 1999, Harvard business review.

[25]  S. Jasimuddin.  Knowledge Management: An Interdisciplinary Perspective , 2012 .

[26]  Richard V. McCarthy,et al.  Knowledge Management Formal and Informal Mentoring: An Empirical Investigation in Lebanese Banks , 2008 .

[27]  Zahra Tohidinia,et al.  Knowledge sharing behaviour and its predictors , 2010, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[28]  Hyun-Soo Lee,et al.  Knowledge conversion with information technology of Korean companies , 2003, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[29]  Zuopeng Justin Zhang,et al.  Knowledge management strategy and organizational culture , 2014, J. Oper. Res. Soc..