The effects of organizational divisions on knowledge-sharing networks in multi-lateral communities of practice

Abstract

Knowledge is a fundamental resource for project-based organizations, and it resides within individual employees. By dividing employees according to their abilities, job roles, and areas of expertise (e.g. business units, functional disciplines), managers create groups within the organization without seeing the impact on underlying knowledge flows. Knowledge sharing across business units and disciplinary groups can produce immense benefit, yet anecdotal evidence suggests that these groups produce ‘silos’ that limit connection between people across the organization. Although communities of practice (CoPs) have recently emerged as a mechanism to encourage practice-based knowledge sharing across organizational silos, it is not clear if the influence of business units and disciplinary groups has a similar effect on knowledge sharing within CoPs. There are few studies that quantitatively assess the impact of organizational structures on informal knowledge-sharing networks. To clarify this anecdotal evidence, th...