TY - JOUR
T1 - Whose brain to pick? The interplay of boundary spanning and transactive memory in inter-group knowledge integration
AU - Mell, Julija N.
AU - Knippenberg, Daan Van
AU - Van Ginkel, Wendy P.
AU - Heughens, Pursey
PY - 2014/1/1
Y1 - 2014/1/1
N2 - Knowledge exchange and integration across group boundaries are critical for knowledge intensive organizations. Prior research has investigated boundary-spanning ties on the individual as well as on the group level, neglecting, however, the question of how individual boundary spanning shapes and contributes to inter-group knowledge integration. In our study, we address this gap by integrating boundary-spanning literature with literature on group information processing and suggest that, contrary to the perspective taken by earlier research, not all individual boundary spanning ties equally contribute to inter-group knowledge integration. Rather, we hypothesize that the effect of individual boundary spanning ties on inter-group knowledge integration depends on the individuals’ positions in their groups’ transactive memory systems. We tested our predictions in a network study of 457 engineering consultants nested in 22 interdependent business units within an organization. Our results indicate that individual boundary spanning ties contribute to inter-group knowledge integration only when the knowledge seeker chooses a person who is central in his or her own group’s transactive memory system as a source of information. Seeking knowledge from persons who are peripheral in their own groups’ transactive memory systems, on the other hand, did not increase inter-group knowledge integration.
AB - Knowledge exchange and integration across group boundaries are critical for knowledge intensive organizations. Prior research has investigated boundary-spanning ties on the individual as well as on the group level, neglecting, however, the question of how individual boundary spanning shapes and contributes to inter-group knowledge integration. In our study, we address this gap by integrating boundary-spanning literature with literature on group information processing and suggest that, contrary to the perspective taken by earlier research, not all individual boundary spanning ties equally contribute to inter-group knowledge integration. Rather, we hypothesize that the effect of individual boundary spanning ties on inter-group knowledge integration depends on the individuals’ positions in their groups’ transactive memory systems. We tested our predictions in a network study of 457 engineering consultants nested in 22 interdependent business units within an organization. Our results indicate that individual boundary spanning ties contribute to inter-group knowledge integration only when the knowledge seeker chooses a person who is central in his or her own group’s transactive memory system as a source of information. Seeking knowledge from persons who are peripheral in their own groups’ transactive memory systems, on the other hand, did not increase inter-group knowledge integration.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026286029&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/ambpp.2014.205
U2 - 10.5465/AMBPP.2014.205
DO - 10.5465/AMBPP.2014.205
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85026286029
SN - 0065-0668
VL - 2014
SP - 642
EP - 647
JO - Academy of Management Proceedings
JF - Academy of Management Proceedings
IS - 1
T2 - 74th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, AOM 2014
Y2 - 1 August 2014 through 4 August 2014
ER -