Knowledge-intensive Teams Research Articles

Why expert leaders matter: a study on the mechanism of team value creation in knowledge-intensive teams

In the knowledge economy, expert-led teams emerge as a pivotal strategy for organizations to secure and maintain a competitive edge. Expert leaders have been shown to have a significant influence on team effectiveness in numerous knowledge-intensive teams. Using an evolutionary game model, this study explores the fundamental mechanism in the value creation process by experts-led teams and finds out: First, experts’ role modeling, coaching, and professional authority motivate team members to contribute their efforts and abilities, leading to the 1 + 1 > 2 synergistic effect. Second, among various forms of team value creation, expert-led teams are a crucial organizational structure which enables stable and long-term enhancements in accumulating team human capital to improve productivity. Moreover, the greater the role played by expert leaders, the faster the evolution progresses of team members’ abilities. This study emphasizes the importance of using expert leaders in human resource management to promote the effectiveness of knowledge-intensive teams.

Team climate and knowledge management in knowledge-intensive teams: does team empowerment matter? Evidence from R&D teams

Team climate and knowledge management in knowledge-intensive teams: does team empowerment matter? Evidence from R&D teams

Navigating inter-team competition: How information broker teams achieve team innovation.

Organizations are increasingly using teams to stimulate innovation. Often, these teams share knowledge and information with each other to help achieve their goals, while also competing for resources and striving to outperform each other. Importantly, based on their industry, the nature of work, or prior history, some teams may face more competition from peer teams than others. Our research examines how teams' competitive relations with other teams in the organization operate in tandem with their collaborative inter-team information exchange relations in impacting their innovation. Using two studies-a field study of 73 knowledge-intensive teams in high-tech engineering firms and a team-based network experimental study of 162 teams-we find that a high degree of overall competition with many peer teams reduces a focal team's ability to acquire and utilize diverse knowledge from these teams (i.e., inter-team knowledge integration), thereby hindering team innovation. However, applying insights from network structural hole theory, we find that when a focal team occupies a brokerage position in the inter-team information exchange network, this can help buffer the effects of competition in getting access to knowledge resources from other teams, thus enabling their innovation. Additionally, we find that focal broker teams' dealmaking and network obstruction behaviors explain these effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of cultural intelligence on the intra-team knowledge-sharing behaviour of knowledge-intensive teams

Background: Although knowledge sharing among members of knowledge-intensive teams can enhance an organisation’s competitive advantage, individuals are often reluctant to share their knowledge. Inadequate cultural intelligence could explain this reluctance in knowledge sharing. Empirical research on cultural intelligence and knowledge sharing in a culturally diverse team context is scant, and existing research is rather outdated. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cultural intelligence on the intra-team knowledge-sharing behaviour of individual members of knowledge-intensive teams in South African organisations.Objective: This study aimed to address the gap in the knowledge-sharing literature concerning the relationship between cultural intelligence and intra-team knowledge-sharing behaviour, especially in a culturally diverse context such as South Africa. Understanding and successfully managing cultural intelligence in diverse knowledge-intensive teams can increase intra-team knowledge-sharing behaviour and, subsequently, an organisation’s overall competitive advantage.Method: Positivism, which is associated with quantitative research, and a deductive approach were adopted to empirically test the relationship between intra-team knowledge-sharing behaviour and cultural intelligence. The data were collected through an online survey from 384 respondents who participated in knowledge-intensive teams in South African organisations. Structural equation modelling was conducted to assess the relationship between the variables.Results: The results of the study revealed that cultural intelligence is significantly and positively related to intra-team knowledge-sharing behaviour.Conclusion: Team leaders can enhance cultural intelligence and, subsequently, intra-team knowledge-sharing behaviour and an organisation’s competitive advantage through practical recommendations proposed by this study.

Knowledge-intensive HRM Systems, Team Reflexivity, Team Knowledge Sharing, and Team Performance

Understanding how to effectively stimulate performance potential of knowledge-intensive teams (KIT) through targeted human resource management (HRM) systems is critical to enhancing organizational knowledge-based competitiveness. This study builds on ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) framework to investigate the effect of knowledge-intensive HRM systems (KIHRS) on KIT performance. Furthermore, team adaptability theory is employed to conceptualise duel effects of team reflection and adaptability which on the one hand forms a facilitating underlying mechanism, whereas on the other hand at the same time, can create a boundary condition that undermines the effect of KIHRS on KIT performance. This study draws on a multi-time (3 times), multi-source (3 sources) data set consisting of 397 knowledge workers from 123 teams in 74 organizations in Pakistan. The multilevel results reveal that KIHRS are positively related to KIT performance, not only directly, but also indirectly through a simultaneous as well as sequential mediating mechanism of team reflexivity and knowledge sharing. Impression management climate however is found to negatively moderate the mediated effects of KIHRS on KIT performance. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are presented accordingly.

Knowledge-Intensive HRM Systems and Performance of Knowledge-Intensive Teams: Mediating Role of Team Knowledge Processes

This study investigates whether and how knowledge-intensive HRM systems (KIHRS) impact the performance of knowledge-intensive teams (KITs). We integrate the ability-motivation-opportunity theory with the knowledge management literature to hypothesize that KIHRS affect KIT performance through team knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation processes. A total of 543 responses (408 team members and 135 team leaders) from 135 KIT of 119 firms were collected in two waves with a time lag of 3 months. The findings indicate that KIHRS relate positively to KIT performance. Furthermore, team knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation work in a sequence to mediate the relationship between KIHRS and KIT performance.

Human Resource Practice Management for Knowledge Intensive Team: IMPACT on Team Innovation Performance and Substitution Effect of Empowerment Leadership

As an important factor in society development, human resource management is crucial to enhance the effectiveness of an organization. In this paper, the research focuses on the human resource management practice in knowledge-intensive teams, and studies the relationship between knowledge sharing and team innovation performance in combination with the practice of ability improvement, opportunity improvement and motivation improvement, aiming at verifying the various research hypotheses, practical policy suggestions are proposed to improve the enterprises management. A leadership substitution model is used to introduce empowerment leadership as the boundary condition to the analysis framework, and the regulatory effect of the empowerment leadership on human resource management practice and team knowledge sharing are discussed through the method of empirical analysis. The analysis results showed the substitution effect between cross-level empowerment leadership and human resource management practice and proved an alternative role between human resource management practice and empowerment leadership in a knowledge-intensive team, which provides a preliminary research basis for later research. The results fully demonstrate that for knowledge-intensive teams, more targeted human resource management practice is needed as the theoretical support. Based on leadership substitution theory, this study explored the relationship between human resource practice and innovation, trying to extend the reverse effect of leadership substitution theory. A cross-layer model is discussed as the paper distinguished implementation of human resource management practices and perceived human resource management practice.

Knowledge centralization and international R&D team performance: Unpacking the moderating roles of team-specific characteristics

This study examines the impact of a centralized knowledge structure on the performance of international R&D teams in multinational corporations (MNCs) and moderating effects of team-specific characteristics. Building upon the social network perspective, we argue that while international R&D teams with a centralized knowledge structure will experience decreasing team performance due to inefficient knowledge sharing and evaluation, this negative effect will be mitigated through diversity in knowledge sources and team members’ personal backgrounds. We test our hypotheses using data collected from 384 international knowledge-intensive teams in two South Korean MNCs and find that the degree of knowledge centralization in a team negatively impacts the team’s performance. A team’s diverse knowledge in business domains, diversity in knowledge channels, and cultural and geographic distance among team members are found to mitigate this negative impact. Our study contributes to team research literature and innovation study in the context of international R&D teams.

Improving team innovation performance: Role of social media and team knowledge management capabilities

Social media can be used to manage information flow in teams, thereby empowering knowledge management, which can be linked to innovation. This study develops a model to test the influence of social media on transactive memory system, absorptive capacities (potential and realized capacity), and team innovation performance. Partial least squares analysis on 61 software development teams indicates the positive impact of social media on transactive memory system and potential and realized absorptive capacity, which in turn can influence team innovation performance. This article presents theoretical contributions and describes implications for social media adoption in knowledge-intensive teams.

Entrepreneurial competency evaluation of knowledge-intensive teams based on PCA method

Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial team is an important driving power to transform scientific and technological innovation into commercial value. The key success factor of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial team is its competencies. This paper firstly reviewed the literature of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial teams and competency theory. Secondly, it constructed the knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial team’s index system of competency factors. And then, it used principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate the competence level of 7 knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial teams. Finally, it verified the effectiveness of the evaluation method and drew the conclusion.

A collaborative system to improve knowledge sharing in scientific research projects

As knowledge sharing is important for every sector, it should be encouraged among team members. Particularly, scientific research projects usually involve knowledge-intensive teams that require members to share various knowledge forms while working together. Although several collaborative systems exist on different platforms, the system features required to improve knowledge sharing between researchers are insufficient. A collaborative system, the Research Collaboration System, designed and developed based on identified collaborative activities and the SECI model, is evaluated by two scientific research projects. Preliminary results show that this system could serve all major research activities of scientific research projects and enhance knowledge sharing.

The team absorptive capacity triad: a configurational study of individual, enabling, and motivating factors

PurposeThe paper aims to understand how knowledge-intensive teams can develop and enhance their team absorptive capacity (ACAP) level, by exploring whether individual and organizational factors are complements or substitutes for team ACAP.Design/methodology/approachThe study applies a configurational approach using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify combinations of individual and team factors that are associated with team ACAP. Data were gathered through a survey among 297 employees of four medium-sized Dutch firms, working in 48 functional teams.FindingsThe primary finding is that knowledge-intensive team ACAP depends on a triad of complementary factors: team members’ individual ACAP, factors that enable knowledge integration and factors that motivate knowledge integration. Underdevelopment of one or more factors leads to lower team ACAP.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to the discussion on thelocusof knowledge-creation and enhances understandings of why knowledge-intensive teams differ in knowledge processing capabilities. It suggests future research on cross-functional teams in new ventures and large firms.Practical implicationsThe paper informs managers and team leaders about the factors that determine knowledge-intensive teams’ ACAP, enabling them to develop team-specific strategies to increase their teams’ performance.Originality/valueThe study takes a holistic perspective on knowledge-intensive team ACAP by using a configurational approach. It also highlights the potential of team-level research in the knowledge management literature for both researchers and practitioners.

Modeling team knowledge sharing and team flexibility: The role of within-team competition

This study examines the role of within-team competition (i.e. team hypercompetition and team development competition) in a team process. We developed and tested a model that associates team collectivism as the antecedent of within-team competition, and knowledge sharing and team flexibility as the outcomes. The model was empirically tested with data from 141 knowledge-intensive teams. The empirical findings showed that team collectivism had a positive relationship with team development competition and a negative relationship with team hypercompetition. Regarding the outcomes, team development competition and team hypercompetition had an indirect relationship with knowledge sharing and team flexibility through team empowerment. We offer a number of original contributions to the team effectiveness literature, especially by showing that team hypercompetition and team development competition have different impacts on team knowledge sharing and team flexibility.

A multilevel model for effects of social capital and knowledge sharing in knowledge-intensive work teams

Although it is a widely held belief that social capital facilitates knowledge sharing among individuals, there is little research that has deeply investigated the impacts of social capital at different levels on an individual's knowledge sharing behavior. To address this research gap, this study combines a multilevel approach and an optimal network configuration view to investigate the multilevel effects of social capital on individuals’ knowledge sharing in knowledge intensive work teams. This study makes a distinction between the social capital at the team-level and that of social capital at the individual level to examine their cross-level and direct effects on an individual's sharing of explicit and tacit knowledge. A survey involving 343 participants in 47 knowledge-intensive teams was conducted for testing the multilevel model. The results reveal that social capital at both levels jointly influences an individual's explicit and tacit knowledge sharing. Further, when individuals possess a moderate betweenness centrality and the whole team holds a moderate network density, team members’ knowledge sharing can be maximized. These findings offer a more comprehensive and precise understanding of the multilevel impacts of social capital on team members’ knowledge sharing behavior, thus contributing to the social capital theory, as well as knowledge management research and practices.

When Critical Knowledge Is Most Critical

Knowledge-intensive teams rely on the task-relevant knowledge held by members to perform effectively. In this article, we focus on critical knowledge, defined as the most influential information, know-how, or feedback that contributes directly to task outcomes. From a social network perspective, the critical knowledge structure in a team can be defined by who shares critical knowledge with whom. In a highly centralized critical knowledge structure, everyone shares critical knowledge with a single person on the team. Alternatively, in a highly decentralized critical knowledge structure, critical knowledge is shared evenly across members of the team. Drawing from small group research and network theory, we theorize about critical knowledge structures in teams and make hypotheses regarding the consequences of centralized critical knowledge structures for executive-rated team performance. Data analyses from a field study of 177 teams in a multinational organization indicate support for our theory that centralized critical knowledge structures are negatively related to executive-rated team performance. Furthermore, the negative relationship is exacerbated when (a) business unit diversity on the team is greater, and (b) critical knowledge shared in the team is exploratory rather than exploitative.

Co-worker trust and knowledge creation: A multilevel analysis

Prior research on trust and knowledge creation has primarily focused on organisational or team-level knowledge creation and the dyadic nature of trust without considering social contexts. This study explores how the extent to which team members are trusted by teammates in their networks (co-worker trust) is associated with the creation of new knowledge in a knowledge-intensive team setting. In addition, the study investigates the moderational effects of task interdependence on the relationship between co-worker trust and knowledge creation. Using a sample of 194 research scientists working in 48 knowledge-intensive teams, our results reveal that team members who are highly trusted by co-workers are more likely to create new knowledge. The positive relationship between co-worker trust and knowledge creation was strongest under conditions of high task interdependence. The discussion addresses the importance of understanding the role of co-worker trust in enhancing knowledge creation and highlights the importance of task contexts. Practical implications for knowledge-intensive teams are discussed.

The Internal and External Networks of Knowledge-Intensive Teams

Using a sample of 56 science research teams, the authors examined (a) the relationships between qualities of team internal and external networks and team performance and (b) the moderating impact of task routineness on these relationships. The authors argued that the mixed empirical results of past studies investigating the relationship between internal networks and performance may be due partly to variations in task routineness and partly to the presence of curvilinear relationships between network qualities and team performance. Using an objective measure of team performance, the results revealed support for both explanations. The authors found an inverted-U relationship between internal trust relationship strength and team performance and a positive linear relationship between external work relationship strength and team performance. Furthermore, task routineness moderated these relationships, as predicted. Future scholarship and practice may be advanced by attending to the boundary conditions under which strong internal and external team networks are likely to be beneficial to the performance of knowledge-intensive teams.

Knowledge sharing in new organizational entities

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the dynamics involved in knowledge sharing in knowledge intensive heterogeneous teams of the German Federal Armed Forces with a specific focus on new organizational entities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on qualitative research. The data were gathered through interviews with members of so‐called concept development and experimentation (CD&E) projects. These projects constitute a novelty for the whole organization and a cultural challenge for effective knowledge sharing, through its cross‐disciplinary, cross‐functional and cross‐hierarchical design. Hence, these projects are a good venue to study cultural dynamics in new organizational entities.FindingsThe analysis reveals that despite the structural separation of the new organizational entity, cultural imprint and cultural re‐import from the existing organization affected knowledge sharing. More specifically, four major influencing factors are identified in regard to knowledge sharing within the CD&E project team and between the team and the line organization; hierarchy, organizational context, micro‐politics and suspicion. The data suggest that these factors are precipitated by cultural imprint of the line organization.Research limitations/implicationsThe qualitative research design is one limitation rendering only descriptions and propositions that need further testing in other settings. Another one is the research venue which allows only limited access for data collection.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that the dynamics in CD&E projects require culturally sensitive project management, starting in the planning phase of the project.Originality/valueThe study investigates knowledge sharing in new organizational entities in knowledge intensive teams of a military organization. Both aspects, new organizational entities and non‐private organizations, have been neglected in research on knowledge sharing.

MANAGEMENT CONSULTING Conference Paper Abstracts.

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings includes abstracts of all papers and symposia presented at the annual conference, plus 6-page abridged versions of the “Best Papers” accepted for inclusion in the program (approximately 10%). Papers published in the Proceedings are abridged because presenting papers at their full length could preclude subsequent journal publication. Please contact the author(s) directly for the full papers. ArticlesMANAGEMENT CONSULTING Conference Paper Abstracts.Published Online:30 Nov 2017https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2010.54503741AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail AbstractThe article presents abstracts on management consulting topics which include a work behavior analysis of executive coaches, cultural dynamics in knowledge intensive teams, and differential follower perceptions of leader development.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 2010, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 30 November 2017 Published in print 1 August 2010 InformationCopyright of Academy of Management Journal is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.KeywordsABSTRACTSBUSINESS consultants -- AbstractsWORK attitudesEXECUTIVE coaching -- AbstractsLEADERSHIP -- AbstractsDownload PDF

Heed, a missing link between trust, monitoring and performance in knowledge intensive teams

This longitudinal study aimed to explain performance differences of knowledge intensive project teams. Team level data gathered at three measurement moments were used. Antecedents of performance studied were: trust in team members, trust in supervisors, monitoring by team members and monitoring by supervisors. Heedful interrelating, a concept developed by Weick and Roberts (1993) was expected to mediate between trust in team members, monitoring by team members and team performance. Correlation analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to analyse the data. The results show that heedful interrelating of team members, built on a combination of trust and monitoring by team members and trust in supervisors is an important factor in promoting team performance.