Expanding organisational knowledge online: the role of bridging members in knowledge expansion in online groups

Reus, Bas; Moser, Christine; Groenewegen, Peter

doi:10.1080/14479338.2020.1840381

Cited by 4 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Employees who are active on the ESN for a long time may be more aware of knowledge that has been shared in the past, and by whom, allowing them to better judge knowledge quality (Chiu et al , 2006). Bridges count is the number of connections that an employee has between groups as a broker, which increases the knowledge expansion between groups (Reus et al , 2020).…”

Section: Methods and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Characteristics such as openness, confidence and other psychological factors may make employees more comfortable in seeking and occupying brokerage positions between online groups (Matzler et al , 2008). Such brokerage positions have generally been theorized as important to integrating diverse knowledge sources from different groups (Burt, 2000; Obstfeld, 2005; Reus et al , 2020).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such an online platform focuses on social relations amongst employees within an organization, sharing content in the form of messages and finding answers to specific questions. These ESNs should foster organizational knowledge sharing (Ellison et al , 2015), expansion (Reus et al , 2020) and integration (Zahra et al , 2020). Knowledge integration refers to the ability to bring together different perspectives, experiences and ideas to create new insights and generate innovative solutions through social interactions (Prieto-Pastor et al , 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Knowledge sharing quality on an enterprise social network: social capital and the moderating effect of being a broker

Reus

Moser

Groenewegen

2023

JKM

Self Cite

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to show that an important antecedent of perceived knowledge quality is an employee’s position in the organizational network due to their participation in different interest groups. In particular, this study theorizes that brokers establish a network of groups, which increases perceived knowledge quality vis-a-vis the social capital that employees draw on. Design/methodology/approach To test this study’s hypotheses on the influence of the structural position of knowledge brokers on the positive effects of social capital on perceived knowledge quality, this study combines data from an online survey with longitudinal archival data from a youth-care organization who used an enterprise social network (ESN) for knowledge sharing. Findings This study found a mitigating effect of being a broker on the relationship between trust and perceived knowledge quality, and also between inter-team interaction and perceived knowledge quality for lower levels of both trust and inter-team interaction on perceived knowledge quality. Research limitations/implications Although the hypotheses are supported, in light of prior research, the authors would have expected stronger and positive effects. Practical implications This research is particularly interesting because it emphasizes the important role of social capital. For organizations that deal with trust issues, it might help to stimulate employees to broaden their activity on ESNs by becoming active in multiple groups. Originality/value While knowledge sharing on ESNs is generally conducive for creating organizational value, there is a lack of understanding of what drives employees’ perception of the quality of shared knowledge, and how this perception may depend on their position in the social network. To investigate this question, the authors turn to social capital theory.

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Section: Methods and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Knowledge sharing quality on an enterprise social network: social capital and the moderating effect of being a broker

Reus

Moser

Groenewegen

2023

JKM

Self Cite

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“…Though multiteamers are bridging members that can facilitate knowledge transfer (Reus et al., 2022), empirical research notes that the more teams employees work on, the less they seek or give advice to others (Brennecke & Rank, 2016). The number of network ties seems to have diminishing returns with success (at the project level) because the gained information is more likely to be redundant and the challenges of these network ties increase (Peng et al., 2013).…”

Section: How Multiteaming Is Thought To Affect Effectiveness?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating multiple team membership: A review and redirection of its influence on effectiveness outcomes

Rishani,

Schouten,

Hoever

2023

Social & Personality Psych

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In today's organizations, employees commonly work in more than one team at a time. As this practice of multiple team membership (MTM) has become a reality of daily work, researchers across disciplines have dedicated their efforts to study its influence on valued outcomes such as employee and team effectiveness. We review the MTM literature to provide an overview of the relationship between multiteaming and effectiveness and to discuss the underlying reasons that explain why this relationship is complex and findings remain inconsistent. Drawing from teams research, we particularly highlight three sources of variance in the effects of multiteaming that have not been discussed in an integrative manner: (a) what is being studied – the aspects and nature of multiteaming; (b) how multiteaming is thought to affect effectiveness – the processes through which multiteaming transforms into (in)effectiveness; and (c) who are the multiteamers – the characteristics of multiteamers. Our review thus offers a more fine‐grained theoretical understanding of multiteaming's influence on effectiveness and uncovers exciting future research directions.

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“…Such an online platform focuses on social relations amongst employees within an organization, sharing content in the form of messages, and finding answers to specific questions. These ESNs should foster organizational knowledge sharing (Ellison et al, 2015), expansion (Reus et al, 2022) and integration (Zahra et al, 2020). Knowledge integration refers to the ability to bring together different perspectives, experiences, and ideas to create new insights and generate innovative solutions through social interactions (Prieto-Pastor et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the gap

Reus

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The title of my dissertation, ‘Bridging the gap: Brokering online organizational groups’, refers to the role of brokering, and particularly within an online environment such as an Employee Social Network (ESN). Employees who have access to an ESN are able to start online groups, share knowledge, discuss ideas, and find colleagues based on interest. A number of employees will engage in multiple groups at the same time, and as such bring those groups closer together, as the groups share one or more members. As a result, a network of groups arises. I view these employees who are active in multiple groups as brokers. In order to gain more understanding of what is going on beneath the surface of ESNs, I turned towards social networks theory. Brokers connect groups, which results in a social network of groups. Also, employees interact with other employees, which results in a social network of individual actors. My aim for this dissertation was to understand the dynamics of these different kinds of networks, and I depart from the following overall research question: How do brokers enact brokering on an Enterprise Social Network, and which brokering mechanisms are at play at multiple organizational levels over time? All key findings are rooted in what I refer to as collective dynamic brokering behavior. This dissertation adds to the debate on brokering from a collective point of view, which so far left unanswered the aspect of multiple brokers sharing the same brokerage position and the influence this may have on brokering outcomes. I also add to the debate on dynamic brokering. As brokering activities of various brokers increase or decrease in intensity, connections between groups become more fluid. Finally, this dissertation makes a contribution to our understanding of brokering behavior by unpacking how brokers experience the networked environment in which they operate.

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Expanding organisational knowledge online: the role of bridging members in knowledge expansion in online groups

Cited by 4 publications

References 110 publications

Knowledge sharing quality on an enterprise social network: social capital and the moderating effect of being a broker

Knowledge sharing quality on an enterprise social network: social capital and the moderating effect of being a broker

Navigating multiple team membership: A review and redirection of its influence on effectiveness outcomes

Bridging the gap

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