Knowledge, Networks, and Knowledge Networks

Abstract

A large and growing body of empirical research shows that social relationships and the networks these relationships constitute are influential in explaining the processes of knowledge creation, diffusion, absorption, and use. The authors refer to such networks as "knowledge networks." They advance an understanding of knowledge networks at multiple levels by conducting a systematic review and analysis of empirical research published on this topic in leading management, psychology, sociology, and economics journals. The authors develop a comprehensive framework that organizes the knowledge networks literature, which they use to review extant empirical research within and across multiple disciplines and levels of analysis. They identify points of coherence and conflict in theoretical arguments and empirical results within and across levels and identify emerging themes and promising areas for future research.

Community Costs? Analyzing the Contingent Association Between Internal Cohesion and External Knowledge Transfer Relationships

“…The positive effect that internal cohesion can have on the network formation process in general and knowledge transfer in particular has been documented across a large number of studies (Phelps et al 2012), including the online context. For example, Kumar et al (2009) established that in an online knowledge sharing forum that an individual was more likely to receive a response to a question from a colleague when cohesion in their network neighborhood was high.…”

“…A number of factors, including physical proximity (Hansen and Løvås, 2004;Salomon and Martin, 2008), social similarity (Loyd et al, 2010), knowledge overlap (Simon, 1991), the strength of the relationship between the source and a recipient (Aral and Van Alstyne, 2011) and even properties of the knowledge being shared (Szulanski, 1996), can influence the knowledge transfer process (Argote et al 2003;Phelps et al 2012). While fully recognizing the importance of these factors, we consider how the presence of strong ties inside a community or network neighborhood ("internal cohesion") influences the transfer of knowledge from a source to a potential recipient.…”

Novel shapes of South–South collaboration: emerging knowledge networks on co-benefits of climate and development policies

“…Knowledge creation, adoption and transfer depend on the way individuals and organizations interact with one another. Knowledge networks have been defined as the collaboration between two or more actors with the strategic purpose of creating or using new knowledge, enabling interactive learning between the knowledge workers (Kreis-Hoyer & Grünberg, 2004;Phelps, Heidl, & Wadhwa, 2012). Information entering the knowledge network connects with existing knowledge, transfers between the knowledge workers, and eventually creates new knowledge outputs (Kreis-Hoyer & Grünberg, 2004).…”

“…In return, the literature on evidence-based policy-making can add important insights on the role of public policy in incentivizing research and knowledge production on real-world problems. Phelps et al (2012) argue in their assessment of the research literature on knowledge networks that understanding the influence of the institutional environment on knowledge networks and outputs requires further research. There may be an opportunity for linking insights from these two strands of literature.…”

Value Model of Knowledge Diffusion in High Technology Innovation Networks

“…Technological innovation depends largely on the partnerships they coordinate with other companies within the industry [1]. As a substrate of knowledge transferring between high-tech enterprises, high-tech innovation network has an important impact on the dissemination process of knowledge between enterprises [2].…”