An exploratory study on the roles of network structure and knowledge processing orientation in work unit knowledge management

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM), which concerns itself with the creation, storage, access and dissemination of intellectual assets, has been a dominant research theme in recent years. However, given the fact that organizational units differ in the way they process their knowledge, there is a need to understand how informational benefits that a unit within the organization accrues by virtue of its relationships with others in the network impact its creativity and KM effectiveness. In this study, we explore the potential contribution of network characteristics to both the creativity and overall KM effectiveness of intra-organizational units. In attempting to reaffirm and extend previous study findings, we accomplish our initial research objective by relating network characteristics to innovative outcomes with a more complete set of network centrality measures. In addition, the study demonstrates that when there is a fit between network structure and knowledge processing orientation, the effectiveness of perceived KM in the units will improve. Our results suggest that fostering an organizational climate that is conducive to extensive interaction and communication between units is likely to make the units more innovative throughout the organization