TY - JOUR
T1 - Differential Impacts of Functional, Geographical, and Hierarchical Diversity on Knowledge Sharing in the Midst of Organizational Change
AU - Kim, Heewon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.
PY - 2018/2/1
Y1 - 2018/2/1
N2 - Organizations have been diversifying their workforce to better respond to fast-changing environments. However, research has indicated that the effects of diversity can vary by a number of contextual influences. This study examines the differential impacts of functional, geographical, and hierarchical diversity on expertise awareness, knowledge transfer, and knowledge acquisition during a large-scale organizational change. The analysis of full network data (N = 211) collected from a multinational high-tech organization demonstrated that (a) geographical diversity was negatively associated with expertise awareness and knowledge sharing, (b) functional diversity was negatively related to expertise awareness, (c) hierarchical diversity had a positive effect on knowledge acquisition and expertise awareness, and (d) emotionally close ties contributed to expertise awareness and knowledge sharing. The findings indicate that hierarchical diversity and emotional closeness can promote knowledge sharing when members face new demands in the midst of organizational change.
AB - Organizations have been diversifying their workforce to better respond to fast-changing environments. However, research has indicated that the effects of diversity can vary by a number of contextual influences. This study examines the differential impacts of functional, geographical, and hierarchical diversity on expertise awareness, knowledge transfer, and knowledge acquisition during a large-scale organizational change. The analysis of full network data (N = 211) collected from a multinational high-tech organization demonstrated that (a) geographical diversity was negatively associated with expertise awareness and knowledge sharing, (b) functional diversity was negatively related to expertise awareness, (c) hierarchical diversity had a positive effect on knowledge acquisition and expertise awareness, and (d) emotionally close ties contributed to expertise awareness and knowledge sharing. The findings indicate that hierarchical diversity and emotional closeness can promote knowledge sharing when members face new demands in the midst of organizational change.
KW - diversity
KW - expertise awareness
KW - knowledge sharing
KW - organizational change
KW - social network analysis
KW - tie strength
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U2 - 10.1177/0893318917728340
DO - 10.1177/0893318917728340
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85040090673
SN - 0893-3189
VL - 32
SP - 5
EP - 30
JO - Management Communication Quarterly
JF - Management Communication Quarterly
IS - 1
ER -