| NSF Org: |
SES Divn Of Social and Economic Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 28, 2014 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | January 30, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1430826 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Georgia Chao
SES Divn Of Social and Economic Sciences SBE Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2014 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $301,695.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $301,695.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3100 MARINE ST Boulder CO US 80309-0001 (303)492-6221 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
3100 Marine St Rm 481 572 UCB Boulder CO US 80309-0572 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | SoO-Science Of Organizations |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): | |
| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.075 |
ABSTRACT
The ability of an organization to mobilize knowledge when and where it is needed is fundamental for organizational performance. When done effectively, this ability can help organizations reduce repeated mistakes, spread innovation and best practices, and avoid dedicating resources to problems that have been solved previously. To date, various organizational mechanisms to govern knowledge have been proposed and implemented, yet they have had limited and varying effects on knowledge mobilization. Thus, there is a pressing need to better understand how to govern knowledge and effect knowledge mobilization across the entire organization.
Knowledge governance is concerned with how the deployment of organizational mechanisms influences knowledge processes, i.e., the creation, retention, and sharing of knowledge. Traditionally, knowledge is governed in organizations through social and control mechanisms through the implementation of Communities of Practice (CoPs) and hierarchical reporting structures. In addition to these traditional mechanisms, this research will analyze the creation of a new form of knowledge governance - a knowledge market, where knowledge is created, priced and sold internally - within a multinational engineering organization. Thus, this research builds from institutional theory, transaction cost economics and the knowledge-based view of the firm to (i) analyze the design and evolvement of an internal knowledge market; (ii) compare and contrast the governance of knowledge through internal knowledge markets and traditional Communities of Practice; and (iii) analyze how different forms of governance affect knowledge mobilization.
Intellectual Merit
This research is expected to expand upon theories of intra-organizational knowledge governance. Specifically, by analyzing a new form of knowledge governance (i.e., internal knowledge markets), this research introduces market mechanisms into intra-organizational analysis. In addition, this research will create a theoretical framework for analyzing and comparing different forms of knowledge governance (e.g., centralized approaches vs. CoPs vs. internal knowledge markets) and determining the effects of these governance strategies on knowledge creation, renewal, reach within an organization.
Broader Impacts
This research will engage industry throughout the data collection and analysis process to validate and refine our findings. A toolkit and best practice guide on how to create an effective internal knowledge market and how different governance forms affect knowledge mobilization will be created and disseminated to organizations. In addition, a course module will be created from this research for teaching in Universities. Overall, the research aims to aid knowledge intensive organizations, such as engineering organizations with globally distributed knowledge workers, in their mobilization of knowledge to increase productivity and improve performance through the implementation of more efficient knowledge governance mechanisms.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Knowledge is fundamental to organizational performance; thus, the need to understand how to better govern knowledge mobilization to facilitate knowledge accessibility, acquisition, and use, is eminent. Knowledge seeking and sharing occurs in an environment where both managerial governance and social cues and perceptions influence knowledge mobilization. Thus, this research investigated governance mechanisms and social perceptions to characterize the antecedents of the knowledge seeking process, analyze the effect of (a) governance and (b)gender on knowledge accessibility, and identify how structural positioning in a knowledge sharing network incurs benefits. The research team had unique access to one of the largest global engineering consultants in water, wastewater treatment and construction for the study, which experimented with different ways to influence knowledge mobilization, including an internal knowledge marketplace. Thus, the research also studied the knowledge market. To conduct the research, the team employed a multi-method approach that qualitatively analyzed interviews, archival data, and observations, and quantitatively analyzed data obtained through questionnaires for knowledge objects, knowledge transactions, and governance approaches.
Knowledge Market
The creation of the internal knowledge market, where teams would purchase applications and tools that captured organizational knowledge, was met with significant internal resistance due to changing leadership, lack of incentives, and confusion about the purpose, cost, and application of the marketplace. Project teams could not legitimize ?purchasing? knowledge in their contracts to their clients; individuals? compensation was based on billable hours, thus, they were not motivated to ?buy? knowledge; and the disciplinary and organizational culture made employees want to develop their own solutions versus purchasing something ?not invented here?. These barriers caused the knowledge market to be unsuccessful.
The effect of gender on knowledge accessibility
Knowledge accessibility is not independent of gender; specifically, women in engineering were perceived as having less expertise and lower accessibility, but the gender of the knowledge seeker mattered. The highest perceived knowledge accessibility was when women sought knowledge from other women. In contrast, the lowest perceived accessibility was when men sought knowledge from women. This is likely due to gender roles and expectations. Practitioners can use the results to recognize the effect of gender on knowledge accessibility and implement strategies to enhance accessibility among disconnected groups.
The effect governance on knowledge accessibility
Results showed that governance influenced knowledge accessibility between employees. Specifically, when respondents perceived that common values and beliefs were present (governance through clan control), they viewed knowledge as more accessible, regardless of the type of knowledge they were seeking. In contrast, bureaucratic control had a positive effect on the accessibility of codified knowledge, but not tacit knowledge. Thus, clan control governance should be considered when tasks are complex and require employees to access tacit knowledge.
Influence of expertise visibility and structural positions on performance
Individuals whose expertise was visible across their expertise, hierarchy, and office boundaries were likely to have increased individual performance scores because they had access to new knowledge and skills, had higher social capital, and connected people to solve problems.
We found that stronger connections with knowledge providers who were closer (in terms of network distance with fewer intermediaries) were correlated with increased time-savings. Individuals valued connections that were easily accessible (strong and close connections) and connections that had good access to all of the actors within the network (central actors).
The project shared findings with organizations to help them improve their knowledge sharing strategies; case studies were developed and used in graduate courses; the project helped develop researchers to work in academia and practice. Specifically, the project involved 3 graduate students, 1 undergraduate student, and 2 investigators, of which 4 are under-represented in their fields.
Last Modified: 08/12/2019
Modified by: Amy N Javernick-Will
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