Abstract
Easy access to organizational knowledge is fundamental in dynamic environments that demand continuous firm adaptation. In that scenario we believe that mentors have a key role as access facilitators to knowledge in the change periods. We have developed this study aiming to explore the role and importance of mentors as knowledge access facilitators. We have approached that role in two different ways. We set apart the knowledge base in two categories: Information centers and organizational memory, accepting that mentors act differently accordingly. Based on the literature reviewed we were able to stage a three‐dimensional theoretical setting (mentoring, knowledge, and change) and produce three research questions. We have addressed these research questions using an exploratory qualitative approach to five different firms from three industries apart. This study contributes to the literature at least in two ways. Firstly, it connects the mentor figure to the knowledge base's access, exposing the importance of the mentor as a knowledge access facilitator during change periods. Secondly, by categorizing the knowledge base in two different ways, we are able to explicitly differentiate mentor roles accordingly.
Highlights
Accepting that organizations act on very dynamic environments where the pressure demanding continuous adaptation is huge, one of the most important challenges to firms is to grant access to knowledge on a permanent basis during change periods
We believe to have reached the main goal of this study by exploring the importance of the mentoring programs and the mentor figure as a knowledge accessing tool
In order to better analyze the relevancy of mentoring programs and the figure of the mentor regarding internal knowledge access, we have chosen five organizations going under major change processes to develop the study
Summary
Accepting that organizations act on very dynamic environments where the pressure demanding continuous adaptation is huge, one of the most important challenges to firms is to grant access to knowledge on a permanent basis during change periods. This study contributes to the Human Resources Management literature at least in three ways It connects the mentor’s figure to the knowledge base’s access, exposing the importance of the mentor as a knowledge access facilitator during change periods. It enlarges the Human Resources literature by illustrating the relevancy of the Mentor figure in the organization. By applying the concepts from the Human Resources Management literature and the Knowledge Management literature, this paper should lead to some interesting directions regarding the way organizations consider the role of mentor pushing the boundaries on mentoring and fostering new lines of research on the knowledge base. Pushing the boundaries on mentoring: can mentoring be a knowledge tool?
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