A specific knowledge culture: Cultural antecedents for knowledge sharing between project teams

Companies focus on knowledge management initiatives to fully derive business value from their employees’ knowledge and foster organizational learning. Many companies organize their processes around projects; therefore, knowledge sharing between project teams becomes vital to organization-wide learning. The aim of this article is to investigate the cultural antecedents of knowledge sharing between project teams. In contrast to previous research that focused on cultural values for knowledge sharing between individuals, this study specifically examines new cultural elements that are important for knowledge sharing between project teams. The results of a quantitative survey indicate that time, structure, output orientation, and openness have positive effects on this specific knowledge process. These outcomes differ from existing studies that mostly focus on a general knowledge culture, leaving the potential for discovering differences for specific knowledge processes.

[1]  Sean Dwyer,et al.  Gender diversity in management and firm performance: the influence of growth orientation and organizational culture , 2003 .

[2]  J. P. Wanous,et al.  Overall job satisfaction: how good are single-item measures? , 1997, The Journal of applied psychology.

[3]  M. Hatch The Dynamics of Organizational Culture , 1993 .

[4]  Jonathon N. Cummings Work Groups, Structural Diversity, and Knowledge Sharing in a Global Organization , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[5]  E. Schein Organizational Culture and Leadership , 1991 .

[6]  F. Bertolotti,et al.  A Perspective on Practice in Interunit Knowledge Sharing , 2010 .

[7]  G. Day Continuous Learning about Markets , 1994 .

[8]  Sandra Moffett,et al.  Developing a model for technology and cultural factors in Knowledge Management , 2002 .

[9]  Liam Fahey,et al.  Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management , 2000 .

[10]  Soonhee Kim,et al.  The Impact of Organizational Context and Information Technology on Employee Knowledge‐Sharing Capabilities , 2006 .

[11]  James M. Sinkula,et al.  The synergistic effect of market orientation and learning orientation on organizational performance , 1999 .

[12]  J. Kotter,et al.  Corporate Culture and Performance , 1992 .

[13]  Stan Oliver,et al.  How to develop knowledge culture in organizations? A multiple case study of large distributed organizations , 2006, J. Knowl. Manag..

[14]  Carole A. Ames,et al.  Achievement Goals in the Classroom: Students' Learning Strategies and Motivation Processes , 1988 .

[15]  Todd A. Mooradian,et al.  Who Trusts? Personality, Trust and Knowledge Sharing , 2006 .

[16]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  Knowledge-Based View: A New Theory of Strategy? , 2006 .

[17]  Rodney McAdam,et al.  Theory Building in Knowledge Management , 2005 .

[18]  Jennifer A. Chatman,et al.  PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: A PROFILE COMPARISON APPROACH TO ASSESSING PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT , 1991 .

[19]  T. Kostova Transnational Transfer of Strategic Organizational Practices: A Contextual Perspective , 1999 .

[20]  J. Bonache,et al.  The Impact of Team Atmosphere on Knowledge Outcomes in Self-managed Teams , 2005 .

[21]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  The Search-Transfer Problem: The Role of Weak Ties in Sharing Knowledge across Organization Subunits , 1999 .

[22]  R. Grant Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[23]  Anita Williams Woolley,et al.  Means vs. Ends: Implications of Process and Outcome Focus for Team Adaptation and Performance , 2009, Organ. Sci..

[24]  P. Quintas,et al.  Knowledge across cultures in the construction industry: sustainability, innovation and design , 2006 .

[25]  Terrence E. Brown,et al.  An operationalization of Stevenson’s conceptualization of entrepreneurship as opportunity-based firm behavior , 2001 .

[26]  Chun Wei Choo,et al.  Information culture and information use: An exploratory study of three organizations , 2008, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[27]  Adel Ismail Al-Alawi,et al.  Organizational culture and knowledge sharing: critical success factors , 2007, J. Knowl. Manag..

[28]  H. D. Thomas,et al.  SUCCESSFUL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS , 1998 .

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

[30]  Jay R. Galbraith Matrix organization designs How to combine functional and project forms , 1971 .

[31]  J. Whitehead,et al.  Sample Non-response Bias and Aggregate Benefits in Contingent Valuation: an Examination of Early, Late and Non-respondents , 1993 .

[32]  Beth A. Bechky Sharing Meaning Across Occupational Communities: The Transformation of Understanding on a Production Floor , 2003, Organ. Sci..

[33]  George A. Marcoulides,et al.  Modern methods for business research , 1998 .

[34]  Klas Eric Soderquist,et al.  Knowledge effectiveness, social context and innovation , 2007, J. Knowl. Manag..

[35]  Arnold Picot,et al.  Information, Organization and Management , 2008 .

[36]  R. Defillippi,et al.  Project-Based Organizations, Embeddedness and Repositories of Knowledge: Editorial , 2004 .

[37]  Albert H. Segars,et al.  Knowledge Management: An Organizational Capabilities Perspective , 2001, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[38]  C. Pearce The future of leadership: combining vertical and shared leadership to transform knowledge work , 2004, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[39]  Hsiu-Fen Lin,et al.  Impact of organizational support on organizational intention to facilitate knowledge sharing , 2006 .

[40]  Elisa Mattarelli,et al.  The role of networks of practice, value sharing, and operational proximity in knowledge flows between professional groups , 2006 .

[41]  D. Gruenfeld,et al.  What Newcomers See and What Oldtimers Say: Discontinuities in Knowledge Exchange , 1999 .

[42]  J. Spender Making knowledge the basis of a dynamic theory of the firm , 1996 .

[43]  A. Prencipe,et al.  Inter-project learning: processes and outcomes of knowledge codification in project-based firms , 2001 .

[44]  Hazel Hall,et al.  Input-friendliness: motivating knowledge sharing across intranets , 2001, J. Inf. Sci..

[45]  Donald A. Schön,et al.  Organizational Learning: A Theory Of Action Perspective , 1978 .

[46]  Paul V. Martorana,et al.  What Do Groups Learn from Their Worldliest Members? Direct and Indirect Influence in Dynamic Teams , 2000 .

[47]  Hsiu-Fen Lin,et al.  The role of online and offline features in sustaining virtual communities: an empirical study , 2007, Internet Res..

[48]  Yvonne du Plessis,et al.  An operational 'project management culture' framework (part 1) , 2006 .

[49]  J. Levine,et al.  Knowledge Transfer in Organizations: Learning from the Experience of Others☆ , 2000 .

[50]  Birgit Renzl Trust in management and knowledge sharing: The mediating effects of fear and knowledge documentation , 2008 .

[51]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[52]  Julia Müller,et al.  Knowledge Sharing between Project Teams and its Cultural Antecedents , 2012, J. Knowl. Manag..

[53]  E. Wenger,et al.  Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier , 2000 .

[54]  James W. Carey,et al.  Communication as Culture, Revised Edition: Essays on Media and Society , 1988 .

[55]  C. Argyris On organizational learning , 1993 .

[56]  Carla O'Dell,et al.  Overcoming cultural barriers to sharing knowledge , 2001, J. Knowl. Manag..

[57]  J. Rodney Turner,et al.  Towards a theory of project management: the nature of the project , 2006 .

[58]  J. Wilcox,et al.  The Pretest in Survey Research: Issues and Preliminary Findings , 1982 .

[59]  D. Denison,et al.  Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness. , 1991 .

[60]  Chung-Jen Chen,et al.  How organizational climate and structure affect knowledge management - The social interaction perspective , 2007, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[61]  S. Newell,et al.  Project-Based Learning and the Role of Learning Boundaries , 2004 .

[62]  M. Hobday The Project-Based Organisation: An ideal form for managing complex products and systems? , 2000 .

[63]  J. Barney,et al.  Organizational Culture: Can It Be a Source of Sustained Competitive Advantage? , 1986 .

[64]  S. Breckler Applications of covariance structure modeling in psychology: cause for concern? , 1990, Psychological bulletin.

[65]  Sherry D. Ryan,et al.  Exploring knowledge sharing in ERP implementation: an organizational culture framework , 2006, Decis. Support Syst..

[66]  B. Byrne Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL, PRELIS, and SIMPLIS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming , 1998 .

[67]  H. P. Sims,et al.  Vertical versus shared leadership as predictors of the effectiveness of change management teams: An examination of aversive, directive, transactional, transformational, and empowering leader behaviors. , 2002 .

[68]  Gernot Grabher,et al.  Knowledge transfer across projects: Codification in creative, high-tech and engineering industries , 2012 .

[69]  R. R. Blake,et al.  The Managerial Grid , 1994 .

[70]  Robert W. Zmud,et al.  Behavioral Intention Formation in Knowledge Sharing: Examining the Roles of Extrinsic Motivators, Social-Psychological Factors, and Organizational Climate , 2005, MIS Q..

[71]  Jacky Swan,et al.  The object of knowledge: The role of objects in biomedical innovation , 2007 .

[72]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  An Empirical Examination of the Influence of Organizational Culture on Knowledge Management Practices , 2005, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[73]  Ken G. Smith,et al.  Knowledge Exchange and Combination: The Role of Human Resource Practices in the Performance of High-Technology Firms , 2006 .

[74]  Allen C. Bluedorn,et al.  Time and Organizations , 1988 .

[75]  B. Lowery,et al.  Thanks, but no thanks: The role of personal responsibility in the experience of gratitude , 2010 .

[76]  A. Gell,et al.  The Anthropology of Time: Cultural Constructions of Temporal Maps and Images , 1994 .

[77]  Linda Lambert,et al.  A Framework for Shared Leadership. , 2002 .

[78]  Karen A. Golden THE INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: STRATEGIES FOR ACTION IN HIGHLY‐ORDERED CONTEXTS* , 1992 .

[79]  Eric D. Darr,et al.  An Investigation of Partner Similarity Dimensions on Knowledge Transfer , 2000 .

[80]  Julia Mueller,et al.  The interactive relationship of corporate culture and knowledge management: a review , 2012 .

[81]  M. Mumford,et al.  Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationships , 2002 .

[82]  Samer Faraj,et al.  Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice , 2005, MIS Q..

[83]  Daniel Z. Levin,et al.  The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[84]  G. Krogh Care in Knowledge Creation , 1998 .

[85]  Linda C. Angell,et al.  Surface- and deep-level diversity in workgroups: Examining the moderating effects of team orientation and team process on relationship conflict , 2004 .

[86]  Wynne W. Chin How to Write Up and Report PLS Analyses , 2010 .

[87]  G. S. Saffold Culture Traits, Strength, and Organizational Performance: Moving Beyond “Strong” Culture , 1988 .

[88]  G. Krogh,et al.  An essay on corporate epistemology , 2007 .

[89]  Wynne W. Chin Issues and Opinion on Structural Equation Modeling by , 2009 .

[90]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development , 2002, Organ. Sci..

[91]  Gaby Odekerken-Schröder,et al.  Using PLS path modeling for assessing hierarchial construct models: guidelines and impirical illustration , 2009 .

[92]  John Hulland,et al.  Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: a review of four recent studies , 1999 .

[93]  L. Smircich Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis. , 1983 .

[94]  M. Gordon,et al.  PUBLICATION RECORDS AND TENURE DECISIONS IN THE FIELD OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT , 1996 .

[95]  Niki Panteli,et al.  Trust and conflict within virtual inter-organizational alliances: a framework for facilitating knowledge sharing , 2005, Decis. Support Syst..

[96]  J. Cooper Personal responsibility and dissonance: The role of foreseen consequences. , 1971 .

[97]  James G. Hunt,et al.  Toward new-wave organization creativity: Beyond romance and analogy in the relationship between orchestra-conductor leadership and musician creativity , 2004 .

[98]  J. Scott Armstrong,et al.  Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. , 1977 .

[99]  Donald R. Cooper,et al.  Business Research Methods , 1980 .

[100]  H. P. Sims,et al.  Is Shared Leadership the Key to Team Success , 2009 .

[101]  M. Polanyi Chapter 7 – The Tacit Dimension , 1997 .

[102]  Vincent Ribière,et al.  Critical attributes of organizational culture that promote knowledge management technology implementation success , 2004, J. Knowl. Manag..

[103]  S. Sackmann Cultural Knowledge in Organizations: Exploring the Collective Mind , 1991 .

[104]  Laura Zapata Cantú,et al.  Generation and transfer of knowledge in IT-related SMEs , 2009, J. Knowl. Manag..