Willem, Armick, Buelens, Marc and Scarbrougb, Harry. (2006) The role of inter-unit coordination mechanisms in knowledge sharing: a case study of a British MNC. JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SCIENCE, 32 (6). pp. 539-561. ISSN 0165-5515

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Abstract

Valuable knowledge in organizations is too often 'locked in' within one unit. The contribution of this paper is to provide insights into the knowledge-sharing effect of inter-unit coordination mechanisms. This topic has not vet received in-depth study. We fill this gap with a case study of a UK-based multinational, in which we explore knowledge sharing between business units. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interviews. The findings from our study highlight that formal coordination is preferable. Informal networking as an inter-unit coordination mechanism was not perceived as beneficial for knowledge sharing. The knowledge-sharing enablers, trust and knowledge complexity, largely dominated the possibilities for inter-unit knowledge sharing whatever coordination was used. Especially, the perceived knowledge complexity caused problems that could not be fully compensated for by any type of coordination mechanism. The study also highlights the unexpectedly minor role of common knowledge and the only indirect effect of coordination through values.

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Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Electronic computers. Computer science. Computer software Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z665 Library Science. Information Science
Journal or Publication Title:	JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SCIENCE
Publisher:	SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
ISSN:	0165-5515
Date:	2006
Volume:	32
Number:	6
Number of Pages:	23
Page Range:	pp. 539-561
Identification Number:	10.1177/0165551506067128
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/32499

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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