Creating knowledge within a team: a socio-technical interaction perspective

Abstract

Creating knowledge within a team for developing new products and services is considered a primary means for improving organizational performance. Drawing upon the socio-technical perspective, we investigate the blended effects of social (learning culture, teamwork quality, and knowledge complexity) and technical (IT support) factors on team-level knowledge creation and team performance. We propose a model that features synergetic interactions between social and technical factors in this knowledge creation process. The model was tested by utilizing data from a field survey of industry managers. The results show significant interactions between social and technical factors, which influence team-level knowledge creation and, in turn, team performance. Our findings can be used to develop socio-technical initiatives to enhance the process of creating team-level knowledge within firms.