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Work Groups, Structural Diversity, and Knowledge Sharing in a Global Organization

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  • Jonathon N. Cummings

    () (Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142)

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    Abstract

    Effective work groups engage in external knowledge sharing--the exchange of information, know-how, and feedback with customers, organizational experts, and others outside of the group. This paper argues that the value of external knowledge sharing increases when work groups are more structurally diverse. A structurally diverse work group is one in which the members, by virtue of their different organizational affiliations, roles, or positions, can expose the group to unique sources of knowledge. It is hypothesized that if members of structurally diverse work groups engage in external knowledge sharing, their performance will improve because of this active exchange of knowledge through unique external sources. A field study of 182 work groups in a Fortune 500 telecommunications firm operationalizes structural diversity as member differences in geographic locations, functional assignments, reporting managers, and business units, as indicated by corporate database records. External knowledge sharing was measured with group member surveys and performance was assessed using senior executive ratings. Ordered logit analyses showed that external knowledge sharing was more strongly associated with performance when work groups were more structurally diverse. Implications for theory and practice around the integration of work groups and social networks are addressed.

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    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1030.0134
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    Bibliographic Info

    Article provided by INFORMS in its journal Management Science.

    Volume (Year): 50 (2004)
    Issue (Month): 3 (March)
    Pages: 352-364

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    Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:50:y:2004:i:3:p:352-364

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    Related research

    Keywords: knowledge management; team diversity; social networks; organizational innovation;

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    Cited by:
    1. Cilem Selin Hazir, 2011. "Conceptualizing the Role of Geographical Proximity in Project Based R&D Networks: A Literature Survey," ERSA conference papers ersa11p1616, European Regional Science Association.
    2. Boyer O’Leary, Michael & Wilson, Jeanne M. & Metiu, Anca, 2011. "Beyond Being There: The Symbolic Role of Communication and Identification in the Emergence of Perceived Proximity in Geographically Dispersed Work," ESSEC Working Papers WP1112, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    3. Mesmer-Magnus, Jessica R. & DeChurch, Leslie A. & Jimenez-Rodriguez, Miliani & Wildman, Jessica & Shuffler, Marissa, 2011. "A meta-analytic investigation of virtuality and information sharing in teams," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 214-225, July.
    4. Renzl, Birgit, 2008. "Trust in management and knowledge sharing: The mediating effects of fear and knowledge documentation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 206-220, April.
    5. Lazer, David & Friedman, Allan, 2005. "The Parable of the Hare and the Tortoise: Small Worlds, Diversity, and System Performance," Working Paper Series rwp05-058, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    6. Lettl, Christopher & Rost, Katja & von Wartburg, Iwan, 2009. "Why are some independent inventors 'heroes' and others 'hobbyists'? The moderating role of technological diversity and specialization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 243-254, March.
    7. Robert S. Huckman & Bradley R. Staats, 2008. "Variation in Experience and Team Familiarity: Addressing the Knowledge Acquisition-Application Problem," Harvard Business School Working Papers 09-035, Harvard Business School.
    8. Michael Boyer O'leary & Anca Metiu & Jeanne M. Wilson, 2011. "Beyond Being There: The Symbolic Role of Communication and Identification in the Emergence of Perceived Proximity in Geographically Dispersed Work," Post-Print hal-00661000, HAL.
    9. Matzler, Kurt & Mueller, Julia, 2011. "Antecedents of knowledge sharing - Examining the influence of learning and performance orientation," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 317-329, June.
    10. Huault, Isabelle & Berthon, Boris & Charreire-Petit, Sandra, . "Réseaux sociaux et processus d'apprentissage, une relation complexe et ambivalente," Open Access publications from Université Paris-Dauphine urn:hdl:123456789/2261, Université Paris-Dauphine.
    11. Blomberg, Jesper & Werr, Andreas, 2006. "Boundaryless Management - Creating, transforming and using knowledge in inter-organizational collaboration. A literature review," Working Paper Series in Business Administration 2006:2, Stockholm School of Economics.
    12. Matzler, Kurt & Renzl, Birgit & Müller, Julia & Herting, Stephan & Mooradian, Todd A., 2008. "Personality traits and knowledge sharing," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 301-313, June.

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