Social networks and knowledge sharing in organizations: a case study

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to determine the association between the strength of different types of ties with the sharing of different kinds of knowledge.Design/methodology/approach -In this paper the association of ties with the sharing of different types of knowledge was measured by a specifically created and developed web survey that was made available to 22 units in the subject organization. Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure (MRQAP) was used to examine the resulting data in order to address the following questions: first, is there a significant association between strength of business ties and the sharing of public knowledge? Second, is there a significant association between strength of social ties and the sharing of private knowledge?Findings -Findings in this paper show that the strength of business relationships rather than the strength of social relationships contributed most significantly to the sharing of public and private knowledge in this organization. Specifically, the frequency of business interactions predicted the sharing of public non-codified knowledge, while the closeness of business relationships predicted the sharing of private non-codified knowledge and the sharing of public codified knowledge. Unexpectedly, neither business nor social ties predicted the sharing of private codified knowledge.Research limitations/implications -The paper shows that one organization belonging to a certain type of business was studied, and these results might be more relevant in the setting of similar business organizations that have similarities in their contexts and profiles with this organization.Practical implications -The results in this paper may assist organizations in rethinking the ways of approaching certain types of knowledge sharing in their strategic and infrastructural decisions and their application. Organizations might invest in promoting inter-unit exchanges and in creating meaningful social nets for more innovative products and better performance.Originality/value -This paper makes a distinct contribution to the available body of research on how social networks in organizations operate in sharing knowledge. The paper provides answ...

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