Communication and loyalty among knowledge workers: a resource of the firm theory view

Smith, Alan D.; Rupp, William T.

doi:10.1108/13673270210434359

Cited by 80 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This type of communication is vital for the development of social intra-organizational networking that forms the foundation for knowledge sharing processes (Smith and William, 2002;Al-Alawi et al, 2007).…”

Section: Interpersonal Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational size and knowledge flow: a proposed theoretical link

Serenko

Bontis

Hardie

2007

Journal of Intellectual Capital

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Purpose -This paper seeks to present a theory clarifying the negative relationship between organizational unit size and knowledge flows referred to as Gita's Rule. Design/methodology/approach -This paper draws from the literature and develops a grounded theory. Various applications and propositions are suggested through this theoretical lens. Findings -It is suggested that, as the size of an organizational unit increases, the effectiveness of internal knowledge flows dramatically diminishes and the degree of intra-organizational knowledge sharing decreases. Research limitations/implications -It is proposed that 150 employees represents a general breaking point, after which knowledge sharing reduces due largely to increased complexity in the formal structure, weaker interpersonal relationships and lower trust, decreased connective efficacy, and less effective communication. Practical implications -The research points to the key dimension of organizational size that must be considered when developing models and reviewing case studies. Originality/value -The research reported in this paper is among the first to explicitly tackle the issue of how knowledge flows are affected by organizational size. A theory is developed and several research propositions are introduced for future studies.

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Section: Interpersonal Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational size and knowledge flow: a proposed theoretical link

Serenko

Bontis

Hardie

2007

Journal of Intellectual Capital

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“…The connection between motivation and creativity has attracted much research attention for decades (e.g., Ambrose & Kulik, 1999 (Amabile, 1988). Research supports the idea that specific job characteristics, most notably skill variety, task identity, and autonomy, are associated with greater intrinsic motivation, especially for growth-oriented people (Smith & Rupp, 2002). Challenging and complex jobs for which employees have the autonomy to plan their work are crucial for creativity (Shalley, Gilson, & Blum, 2000).…”

Section: Knowledge Development and Creativitymentioning

confidence: 82%

Motivation for Knowledge Work

Hendriks

Sousa

2006

Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management

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The importance of motivation in knowledge work is generally acknowledged. With lacking motivation, the quality of the products of knowledge work is bound to drop dramatically. Without work motivation, individual knowledge workers may direct their efforts to their individual needs at the expense of organization goals or decide to leave the firm. Creativity, knowledge teamwork, knowledge sharing, and other knowledge processes depend on the motivation of knowledge workers. Lacking sustained motivation in association with an insufficiently knowledge-friendly culture has often been mentioned as the principal culprit for failed knowledge management (KM) initiatives and programs (Davenport, DeLong, & Beers, 1998; McKenzie, Truc, & Winkelen, 2001). Several traits of knowledge workers explain, so it is argued, why prevailing work motivation programs will not work when applied to knowledge workers: they have high needs for autonomy, their career formation is external to the organization, they are loyal to their networks of peers and to their profession rather than to the organization that employs them, and the exact form and sequence of their work processes cannot be fully predicted (Despres & Hiltrop, 1996).

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“…Durst and Wilhelm (2012, 646) conclude that when small businesses "fail to tackle the problem of knowledge attrition it may strongly affect their survivability." Knowledge transfer is the businesses' ability to exchange knowledge (Goh, 2002;Smith and Rupp, 2002) and is essential for family business continuity after succession has occurred Poutziouris and Chittenden, 1996). Minbaeva et al (2003, 587) define knowledge transfer as "a process that covers several stages starting from identifying the knowledge over the actual process of transferring the knowledge to its final utilization by the receiving unit."…”

Section: K N O W L E D G E T R a N S F E R I N F A M I L Y I N T E R mentioning

confidence: 99%

A power perspective on knowledge transfer in internal succession of small family businesses

Muskat

Zehrer

2017

Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship

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The aim of this paper is to apply a power perspective to knowledge transfer in internal succession processes of small family businesses. We argue that knowledge is a source of power. Distilling existing literature on small family businesses, knowledge transfer and power theory, we focus on the role of owner-manager and successor in internal succession. Propositions are formulated, theorizing the influence of (1) expert power, (2) decision-making power, (3) trust, (4) rivalry, and (5) capabilities. First, we conclude, familiness and high levels of trust in small family businesses influence power relationships between successor and predecessor positively. Second, the existence of high power imbalances within familiness can slow progress in knowledge transfer in succession, and particularly negatively impact on tacit knowledge transfer from one generation to the next

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Communication and loyalty among knowledge workers: a resource of the firm theory view

Cited by 80 publications

References 17 publications

Organizational size and knowledge flow: a proposed theoretical link

Organizational size and knowledge flow: a proposed theoretical link

Motivation for Knowledge Work

A power perspective on knowledge transfer in internal succession of small family businesses

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