Invisible Foundations of Collaboration in the Workplace: a Multiplex Network Approach to Advice Seeking and Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

A revolutionary advancement of technology in the past decade brought the attention of academics and management practitioners on how to improve the innovative capabilities of organizations. Advice-seeking relationships have an essential role in the knowledge production of modern-day organizations as they enable actors to acquire information, professional support, and knowledge elements they can recombine to form new knowledge. This paper conceptualizes advice-seeking behaviour as part of an inherently complex social world that can best be captured by a multiplex approach to organizational network research. It investigates how different layers of interpersonal relationships in the workplace may contribute to the appearance of advice-seeking interactions. This study examines the cases of three knowledge-intensive organizations and applies binary logistic regression to shed light on the yet invisible relational foundations of workplace collaboration. <br />Implications for Central European audience: Central European countries attempt to improve their economic competitiveness by attracting knowledge-intensive companies as well as incentivizing innovation and digital transformation. Knowledge-intensive firms, such as business services centres or information and communication technology companies, are significant contributors to the economic output of countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Recommendations derived from the results of this paper provide insights to the leadership of knowledge-intensive companies on how to create organizational environments that foster knowledge sharing and innovation. Measures that promote interpersonal trust, the visibility of expertise, and boundary-spanning behaviour are advised.