Inter-team knowledge sharing: The variegated effects of context and when lobbying can help

Abstract

This paper develops a model relating knowledge sharing across teams to their relational context. Findings from a field study of R&D teams in the pharmaceutical industry suggest that a competitive relationship is negatively associated with inter-team knowledge sharing, that a shared sense of identification with the organization is positively associated with inter-team knowledge sharing, and that the negative effect of competition on knowledge sharing is attenuated by organizational identification. The study further shows that the negative effect of competition on knowledge sharing is attenuated by a team’s upward lobbying efforts – seeking management support to induce other teams to share knowledge – but that the effects of upward lobbying and organizational identity on knowledge sharing interact negatively. The effects of the model are generally stronger when knowledge sharing involves know-how (knowledge about how things are done) rather than know-what (information and facts). These results suggest that the key relational characteristics of competition and organizational identity affect knowledge sharing in different ways, and that the effectiveness of teams’ lobbying efforts is contingent on the configuration of their relational context and the kind of knowledge that is shared.