Raising team social capital with knowledge and communication in information systems development projects

Abstract

Information systems development is a knowledge intensive collaboration project demanding high level of team social capital especially between business and technology experts. In this study, team social capital is conceptualized with three sub-constructs: social ties, trust and shared vision. Knowledge and communication by business and technology experts are hypothesized as critical antecedents of team social capital leading to team performance. A survey has been conducted collecting data from pairs of business and technology experts in 126 project teams. Data analysis largely confirmed the research model. Social ties seem to precede shared vision and trust. Trust seems to have a stronger association with the performance compared with shared vision. Knowledge and communication of both parties are found to be important, but, interestingly, business professionals' knowledge and communication seem to have a stronger influence in forming the team social capital. Implications and further studies are discussed with limitations.