The Effect of Project Environment on the Relationship between Knowledge Sharing and Team Creativity in the Software Development Context

Creativity is an important element of information systems development and is essential for successful software development. The creative work involved in software development is similar to knowledge sharing (KS), which is fundamental to the development of any complex information system. Although research has highlighted many factors that influence individual creativity, there has been little focus on how team-level creativity is determined. Software development teams may exhibit creativity in the interaction of its members. Since creative software development requires teams to share each other’s knowledge, KS becomes an important determinant in team creativity. Project environment is a moderating variable in the present study. Based on a sample of 52 software development teams, direct and moderated relationships between KS and team creativity were tested. The results indicate that KS has a direct effect on team creativity and that the relationship between KS and team creativity is moderated by project environment, where more task-centric KS will be required when the environment is dynamic. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

[1]  C. Cramton.  The Mutual Knowledge Problem and Its Consequences for Dispersed Collaboration , 2001 .

[2]  James J. Jiang,et al.  Mediators between coordination and IS project performance , 2007, Inf. Manag..

[3]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations , 1988 .

[4]  Hans J. Thamhain,et al.  Managing Innovative R&D Teams , 2003 .

[5]  Hélène Sicotte,et al.  Integration mechanisms and R&D project performance☆ , 2000 .

[6]  Alan M. Davis,et al.  A Unified Model of Requirements Elicitation , 2004, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[7]  Robert K. Kazanjian,et al.  Multilevel Theorizing about Creativity in Organizations: A Sensemaking Perspective , 1999 .

[8]  David Baccarini,et al.  The concept of project complexity—a review , 1996 .

[9]  R. Keller,et al.  Technology-Information Processing Fit and the Performance of R&D Project Groups: A Test of Contingency Theory , 1994 .

[10]  M. Hoegl,et al.  When teamwork really matters: task innovativeness as a moderator of the teamwork–performance relationship in software development projects , 2003 .

[11]  Kathleen M. Eisenhardt,et al.  Integrating Knowledge in Groups: How Formal Interventions Enable Flexibility , 2002, Organ. Sci..

[12]  K. M. Bartol,et al.  Encouraging Knowledge Sharing: The Role of Organizational Reward Systems , 2002 .

[13]  I. Nonaka,et al.  The Concept of “Ba”: Building a Foundation for Knowledge Creation , 1998 .

[14]  A. Meyer.  The Flow of Technological Innovation in an R&D Department , 1985 .

[15]  M. Lindvall,et al.  Knowledge management in software engineering , 2002, IEEE Software.

[16]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Coordination in software development , 1995, CACM.

[17]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Expertise Integration and Creativity in Information Systems Development , 2005, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[18]  Pierre N. Robillard,et al.  The role of knowledge in software development , 1999, CACM.

[19]  D. Denison,et al.  From Chimneys to Cross-Functional Teams: Developing and Validating a Diagnostic Model , 1996 .

[20]  Ramesh K. Agarwal,et al.  A MODEL OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS , 2011 .

[21]  Ricky W. Griffin,et al.  Toward a Theory of Organizational Creativity , 1993 .

[22]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Team Structure and Performance: Assessing the Mediating Role of Intrateam Process and the Moderating Role of Task Type , 2000 .

[23]  Margaret Henry,et al.  Toward a Theory of , 2005 .

[24]  Monica J. Garfield,et al.  The Creative Process: The Effects of Group Memory on Individual Idea Generation , 1999, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[25]  M. Hoegl,et al.  Teamwork Quality and the Success of Innovative Projects , 2001 .

[26]  K. Praveen Parboteeah,et al.  Creativity in innovative projects: How teamwork matters , 2007 .

[27]  Jan Kratzer,et al.  Virtuality, communication, and new product team creativity: a social network perspective , 2003 .

[28]  Thomas Clarke,et al.  Corporate initiatives in knowledge management , 2001 .

[29]  Kalle Lyytinen,et al.  Learning failure in information systems development , 1999, Inf. Syst. J..

[30]  Ernest A. Edmonds,et al.  Creativity, art practice, and knowledge , 2002, CACM.

[31]  T. Allen.  Managing the flow of technology , 1977 .

[32]  P. Senge.  THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE , 1997 .

[33]  Elisabeth Brauner,et al.  Editorial: The Information Processing Approach as a Perspective for Groups Research , 2000 .

[34]  Weidong Xia,et al.  Complexity of Information Systems Development Projects: Conceptualization and Measurement Development , 2005, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[35]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design , 1986 .

[36]  Gary L. Frankwick,et al.  Hurdle the Cross-Functional Barriers to Strategic Change , 1995 .

[37]  Ming-Huei Chen.  Understanding the Benefits and Detriments of Conflict on Team Creativity Process , 2006 .

[38]  Annouk Lievens,et al.  Communication flows in international product innovation teams , 2000 .

[39]  James D. Herbsleb,et al.  Team Knowledge and Coordination in Geographically Distributed Software Development , 2007, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[40]  Bill Curtis,et al.  A field study of the software design process for large systems , 1988, CACM.

[41]  Neil Anderson,et al.  Innovation in working groups. , 1990 .

[42]  Randolph B. Cooper,et al.  Information Technology Development Creativity: A Case Study of Attempted Radical Change , 2000, MIS Q..

[43]  Victoria J. Marsick,et al.  Towards a model of team learning , 1993 .

[44]  Sara A. McComb,et al.  Team flexibility's relationship to staffing and performance in complex projects: An empirical analysis , 2007 .