To Stem the Tide: Organizational Climate and the Locus of Knowledge Transfer

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Di Stefano, Giada; Micheli, Maria Rita

Abstract: Prior work has maintained that organizations benefit from managing the transfer ... Expand

Abstract: Prior work has maintained that organizations benefit from managing the transfer of proprietary knowledge. Transfer is often advantageous within organizational boundaries but may be harmful across them, because it might erode competitive advantage. Hence, we ask: How can organizations affect the direction in which knowledge flows? We examine the role of organizational climate as a governing mechanism for knowledge transfer. Our empirical strategy consists of a mixed-methods approach leveraging qualitative and experimental data over two cycles of theory building and theory testing. We start with an extensive field study of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), leveraging the insights from desk research, field observations, 53 interviews, and a laboratory-in-the-field experiment involving 518 physicists. We then provide a causal test of the emerging framework by means of two laboratory experiments with 389 participants. Our findings suggest employees are more likely to transfer knowledge to their colleagues when they identify as an integral part of the organization, but they would rather transfer knowledge to outside competitors when their organization encourages them to outperform coworkers. In the presence of an organizational climate that is unfavorable to preventing knowledge spillovers, we argue, organizations can redirect the locus of knowledge transfer internally by acting upon an individual employee’s job design and socialization regime.History: This paper has been accepted for the Organization Science Special Issue on Experiments in Organizational Theory.Funding: The authors acknowledge generous financial support from Bocconi University, the HEC Foundation of HEC Paris, and IESEG School of Management.Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1551. Collapse

Topics: knowledge sharing electronic mail pandemic knowledge spillover strategic management

Methods: experiment qualitative interview field study theory development laboratory experiment

Theories: organizational theory

Bridging the Gap: Evidence from the Return Migration of African Scientists

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Fry, Caroline Viola

Abstract: Although prior research has highlighted the benefits that accrue to brokers in i ... Expand

Abstract: Although prior research has highlighted the benefits that accrue to brokers in innovation networks, much less attention is devoted to understanding who benefits from associating with a broker. This study focuses on the impact of associating with a specific kind of broker—a core/periphery bridge—that is, one that spans central and peripheral actors. I argue that actors associated with a core/periphery bridge benefit more when they have no central connection, or are outsiders in the network, due to their greater need for sponsorship from the broker. I explore this idea in the context of the return migration of American-trained scientists to African institutions, who span the core and the periphery of the global scientific network. I evaluate the impact of their return on the publication outcomes of nonmigrant scientists based in African institutions and find that following the arrival of a returnee in their institution, the nonmigrants who are not already connected to scientists in top global institutions have a greater publication output through improved access to central knowledge and connections. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how brokers can influence innovation systems more broadly. Supplemental Material: The online appendices available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1580. Collapse

Topics: IT career social capital accounting anonymity interorganizational relationship

Methods: longitudinal research robustness check descriptive statistic experimental group regression analysis method

Quantifying Learning and Competition among Crowdfunding Projects: Metrics and a Predictive Model

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Liu, Xiexin; Rahmani Moghaddam, Maryam; Fan, Weiguo (Patrick)

Abstract: The performance of a crowdfunding project is highly situational-dependent. In th ... Expand

Abstract: The performance of a crowdfunding project is highly situational-dependent. In this study, we quantify the interactions between crowdfunding projects in order to understand how these interactions can help predict the performance of crowdfunding campaigns. Specifically, we utilize Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to create a semi-automated system to label the associated product for each crowdfunding campaign. We also propose three sets of metrics to measure how crowdfunding projects learn from and compete with each other. Finally, we propose a machine learning model and demonstrate that the proposed metrics and the proposed model outperform other combinations when predicting the performance of crowdfunding projects. Collapse

Topics: crowdsourcing crowdfunding research and development mobile system knowledge sharing

Methods: cluster analysis natural language processing machine learning support vector machine term frequency–inverse document frequency

Differential Impacts of Technology-Network Structures on Cost Efficiency: Knowledge Spillovers in Healthcare

2023 | Journal of Management Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Nwafor, Onyi; Ma, Xiao; Johnson, Norman A.; Singh, Rahul; Aron, Ravi

Abstract: We examine how hospital cost efficiency can improve because of knowledge spillov ... Expand

Abstract: We examine how hospital cost efficiency can improve because of knowledge spillover effects, arising from the experiences of members of a healthcare system. We identify two types of functional technology networks—that we term repository-type and workflow-type networks—which are defined by the adoption patterns of different types of electronic health record (EHR) systems application functions by hospitals in a health system. Additionally, we examine how structural features of these two network types—namely, network centrality and interconnectedness—impact such knowledge spillover effects. By analyzing seven years of panel data for 1,420 U.S. hospitals across 216 health systems, and data obtained from surveys of healthcare experts, we found that greater centrality of nodes in repository-type networks enhances the influence of partners' experiences on cost efficiency but has the opposite effect in workflow-type networks, while greater interconnectedness of workflow-type networks enhances the influence of partners' experiences on cost efficiency. Interestingly, we found the opposite effect in repository-type networks, where greater interconnectedness diminishes the influence of partners' experiences on cost efficiency. We discuss reasons for this surprising and counterintuitive finding. Overall, our results demonstrate that at least in healthcare settings where information technologies enable knowledge-sharing networks to be formed, benefits can accrue through knowledge spillover effects; moreover, variations across functional categories of technologies adopted in a network context can result in different technology-network structures with differential impacts on hospital cost efficiency because of their influence on knowledge spillover at both the hospital and system levels. Not only can these results explain mixed findings in the literature that has been dominated by a focus on cost efficiency outcomes dependent solely on the EHR adoption choices of individual hospitals, but they also provide the basis for guidelines for a network-based perspective of technology adoption. We discuss other possible settings to which our empirical findings can be reasonably generalized, including supply chain technologies and the Internet of Things. Collapse

Topics: health information system knowledge sharing knowledge spillover technology adoption IT manager

Methods: longitudinal research robustness check descriptive statistic parametric test ANOVA

Theories: social network theory

Learning to Manage Breadth: Experience as Repetition and Adaptation

2022 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Dutt, Nilanjana; Lawrence, Megan

Abstract: We examine how experience-induced adaptations that affect the breadth of an ongo ... Expand

Abstract: We examine how experience-induced adaptations that affect the breadth of an ongoing activity affect performance. The research on organizational learning suggests that accumulating experience, both from repetition and adaptation at the activity level, improves outcomes. Yet, findings on the effects of increasing breadth—the number of different processes making up an activity—are mixed. Greater breadth exposes organizations to diverse activities. It also generates an additional need for coordination that may undermine performance. We examine the joint effect of experience and breadth on waste reduction for U.S. manufacturing facilities managing their toxic waste from 1991 to 2014. These facilities manage toxic waste on a chemical by chemical basis. We find a detrimental effect of breadth on performance that is highest for facilities with low experience; however, this effect is moderated by experience with the waste management activity. Because most facilities manage toxic waste from several chemicals, we also see spillovers—in terms of both learning benefits and the costs of increasing breadth. When a facility expands waste management breadth anywhere, performance decreases for the focal chemical. Yet, this spillover effect of breadth decreases for activities where the facility has accrued more experience. Our research clarifies when facilities should consider adding breadth to a routine activity and why performance in the proximate period may falter as the organization learns and improves in the longer term. Collapse

Topics: missing data organization learning competitive advantage accounting knowledge spillover

Methods: statistical hypothesis test natural experiment robustness check longitudinal research triangulation

Beyond Spatial Proximity: The Impact of Enhanced Spatial Connectedness from New Bridges on Entrepreneurship

2022 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Dutta, Sunasir; Armanios, Daniel Erian; Desai, Jaison D.

Abstract: Various strands of work have explored how spatial proximity helps (metaphoricall ... Expand

Abstract: Various strands of work have explored how spatial proximity helps (metaphorically) bridge barriers to resource mobilization and foster knowledge transfer. However, much of that work takes spatial connectedness as a given. We argue that spatial connectedness is a distinct construct that affects the extent to which spaces are not just proximate but are actually able to link people, ideas, resources, and knowledge together. We explore one such source of connectedness—physical (not metaphorical) bridges. We find that the opening of newly built bridges enhances startup founding in the local geographic community. Beyond their impact on startup founding, newly built bridges also influence the organizing process for such ventures. This includes a positive impact on the entry of prospective founders into entrepreneurship and an increase in the number of early-stage investors. The subsequently founded ventures are also more likely to engage in recombination and to cross industry boundaries. We explore scope conditions around industry and connective heterogeneity. We also test for robustness to various modeling approaches. The discussion highlights contributions of these findings to the study of entrepreneurship, as well as of organizations and the institutional fields in which they operate. Collapse

Topics: entrepreneurship innovation management knowledge sharing knowledge spillover economic surplus

Methods: robustness check hierarchical linear modeling archival research statistical hypothesis test instrumental variables estimation

Theories: institutional theory sociomaterialism theory organizational theory theory of economic booms

IT Knowledge Spillovers, Absorptive Capacity, and Productivity: Evidence from Enterprise Software

2022 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 0

Authors: Huang, Peng; Ceccagnoli, Marco; Forman, Chris; Wu, D.j.

Abstract: We examine the productivity implications of external knowledge flows obtained th ... Expand

Abstract: We examine the productivity implications of external knowledge flows obtained through an internet-mediated discussion forum in which IT professionals help one another solve problems related to the implementation and use of enterprise software. We extend elements of the absorptive capacity (ACAP) framework that have not previously been studied in the information systems (IS) literature to a new context. Consistent with prior results from the IS literature, we first show that IT spillovers—acquired through employees’ participation in this forum—only accrue to firms with prior related investments in enterprise software. We then demonstrate boundary conditions for ACAP based on characteristics of external knowledge affecting the ease of learning. Our results show that IT spillovers are not “free”; the ability to derive the value of IT spillovers through informal channels—such as online communities—critically depends on both prior related IT investments by the recipient firm and the novelty of external knowledge. Less intuitively, when knowledge originates from relatively novel or emergent domains, the role of prior related knowledge in absorbing spillovers becomes more important. Collapse

Topics: enterprise information system productivity absorptive capacity human resource management IT skill

Methods: Compustat statistical hypothesis test instrumental variables estimation longitudinal research descriptive statistic

Theories: absorptive capacity theory

Living It Up at the Hotel California: Employee Mobility Barriers and Collaborativeness in Firms’ Innovation

2022 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Seo, Eunkwang; Somaya, Deepak

Abstract: Research has long recognized the importance of collaboration for innovation, but ... Expand

Abstract: Research has long recognized the importance of collaboration for innovation, but relatively little is known about the strategic drivers of collaborative innovation in firms. We posit that robust collaboration within firms can increase the interfirm mobility of inventors and increase spillovers of innovative knowledge to competitors by mobile inventors. Therefore, by mitigating these value capture hazards associated with collaboration, barriers to employee mobility may induce firms to increase collaborativeness in innovation. Additionally, consistent with the mechanism underlying this proposition, we hypothesize that firms whose innovation entails more complex knowledge, which is known to impede interfirm knowledge spillovers, will increase collaboration less when employee mobility increases. We test these hypotheses by leveraging quasi-exogenous changes in two legal mobility barriers for inventors across U.S. states and find that higher-mobility barriers are associated with greater inventor collaboration (as observed in patented innovation), and this effect is weaker for firms possessing more complex knowledge. These findings deepen our understanding of the strategic tradeoffs between value creation and value capture entailed in collaborative innovation within firms and of human capital strategies that help to manage these tradeoffs. Collapse

Topics: innovation management knowledge spillover collaborative innovation research and development human resource management

Methods: regression analysis method qualitative interview difference in differences robustness check longitudinal research

Theories: human capital theory

The Differential Impact of Intrafirm Collaboration and Technological Network Centrality on Employees’ Likelihood of Leaving the Firm

2022 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Tzabbar, Daniel; Cirillo, Bruno; Breschi, Stefano

Abstract: How does an employee’s centrality in intrafirm research and development activiti ... Expand

Abstract: How does an employee’s centrality in intrafirm research and development activities affect the employee’s propensity for outward mobility? Does this proclivity vary by the type of employment the employee seeks: moving to other firms versus founding a new venture? We maintain that, to answer these questions, we must distinguish between an employee’s centrality in the intrafirm collaboration network and the employee’s centrality in the intrafirm technological recombination network. We utilize the curricula vitae and patent data of corporate inventors at a leading semiconductor company between 1993 and 2012 to test our hypotheses. Contrary to prevailing views, our competing risk model indicates that corporate inventors who are central in the intrafirm collaboration and technological network and, thus, have the most opportunities are less likely to leave the current employer. However, when considering external employment opportunities, their preferences vary. Collaboration-central individuals are more likely to start a new venture than to move to another employer. Their skill in developing interpersonal relationships enables them to attract the tangible and intangible resources needed in a new firm. In contrast, inventors whose technological expertise is central to the firm’s technology recombination network are more likely to move to another employer than to start a new venture. In an established firm, they can leverage their technological know-how using the resources that a new venture would lack. Our theory highlights the trade-offs in employees’ attempts to take advantage of their internal and external value based on their position within the firm’s collaboration and technological networks. Funding: The authors thank LeBow College of Business, SKEMA Business School, and Bocconi University for their financial support. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1535. Collapse

Topics: LinkedIn entrepreneurship IT career human resource management knowledge spillover

Methods: Wald test hazard function robustness check qualitative interview statistical hypothesis test

Theories: resource based view of the firm social network theory

Introduction to Securing Knowledge Systems and Managing Knowledge Risks Minitrack

2021 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Durcikova, Alexandra; Jennex, Murray E; Ilvonen, Ilona

Abstract: The purpose of this Minitrack is to focus on research on the intersection of kn ... Expand

Abstract: The purpose of this Minitrack is to focus on research on the intersection of knowledge systems, knowledge management, security, and risk management. It seeks papers that investigate issues related to security and protection of intellectual assets and explore how organizations can use security measures to protect their KM practices.During the nine years of existence of this minitrack, we have published twenty-one papers that focus on the intersection of knowledge management and organizational or individual security and knowledge risk. These papers belong to one of the following emerging themes: (1) Protecting Confidentiality of Knowledge.; (2) Protecting Integrity of Knowledge; (3) Protecting Knowledge Loss Risk; and (4) Improving Knowledge of Safe Cyber Behavior.This year's papers follow the tradition of bringing papers that are at the intersection of security and KM; both spam across multiple themes. The first paper by AJ Burns discusses how the regulatory focus on rational choices influences employees' intention to protect organizational information assets. The result of these exploratory analyses indicates that promotion and prevention foci each distinctly relate to perceived costs and benefits of protecting organizational information assets. Additionally, the findings show that the overall benefit of protecting mediates an expanded set of costs and benefits The second paper, by Fruhwirth, Pammer-Shindler, and Thalmann, explores data-driven business models and ways they create unwanted knowledge spillovers. The authors developed a network-based representation of data-driven business models within one case organization and identified knowledge risks using 17 interviews with experts from the domain of business models, data analysis, and knowledge management. We found that the network-based representation is suitable to visualize, discuss, and create awareness for knowledge risks and see types of data-related value objects and quantification of risks as two recommendations for further research.The minitrack co-chairs want to thank authors and reviewers for their work in making this nine-year of the minitrack a success. We encourage authors whose research focus is on the intersection of knowledge management and individual or organizational security to submit their work to this minitrack in the future. Research focusing on cybersecurity training is also welcome. Collapse

Topics: data-driven business model knowledge spillover