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Promoting tacit knowledge application and integration through guanxi and structural holes

Promoting tacit knowledge application and integration through guanxi and structural holes This study aims to explore the impacts of structural holes (SH) and guanxi and their interaction on the application and integration of tacit knowledge among co-workers in inter-organizational arrangements.Design/methodology/approachThe relationships were examined using a mixed-methods research approach through 305 questionnaires and 50 interviews collected from a university and a pharmaceutical company in China.FindingsSH hinders the application and integration of tacit knowledge, while guanxi promotes these latter. In addition, guanxi moderates the negative impact of SH on tacit knowledge application (TKA) and tacit knowledge integration (TKI).Research limitations/implicationsBy developing a framework to identify how co-workers strategically leverage their guanxi and SH to facilitate TKA and TKI, this study identifies the key factors that drive these latter in complex inter-organizational arrangements, contributing to the literature on knowledge management. In addition, the study makes a contribution to the advancement of SH theory by comparing guanxi with other social relationships in terms of their application to SH in different cultures, and recognizing the cultural contingencies that condition the effect of SH on knowledge management performance, thereby generating an important implication for the identification of the different roles that structural-hole owners play in brokerage situations. Finally, by comparing the difference between guanxi and interpersonal relationships in Chinese culture, this study provides a reasonable explanation for guanxi’s moderating effect on SH.Practical implicationsBy uncovering the significance of guanxi cultivation with individuals who occupy yet-to-be-filled SH to make them more committed to the network, this study seeks to provide organizational leaders with helpful suggestions for the creation of incentives to fill SH.Originality/valueBy developing a framework to identify how co-workers strategically leverage their guanxi and SH to facilitate TKA and TKI, this study provides a theoretically defensible and empirically supported solution to the problems experienced by co-workers in applying and integrating tacit knowledge effectively in complex inter-organizational arrangements. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Knowledge Management Emerald Publishing

Promoting tacit knowledge application and integration through guanxi and structural holes

Journal of Knowledge Management , Volume 25 (5): 32 – Jun 21, 2021

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References (82)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1367-3270
eISSN
1367-3270
DOI
10.1108/jkm-02-2020-0090
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This study aims to explore the impacts of structural holes (SH) and guanxi and their interaction on the application and integration of tacit knowledge among co-workers in inter-organizational arrangements.Design/methodology/approachThe relationships were examined using a mixed-methods research approach through 305 questionnaires and 50 interviews collected from a university and a pharmaceutical company in China.FindingsSH hinders the application and integration of tacit knowledge, while guanxi promotes these latter. In addition, guanxi moderates the negative impact of SH on tacit knowledge application (TKA) and tacit knowledge integration (TKI).Research limitations/implicationsBy developing a framework to identify how co-workers strategically leverage their guanxi and SH to facilitate TKA and TKI, this study identifies the key factors that drive these latter in complex inter-organizational arrangements, contributing to the literature on knowledge management. In addition, the study makes a contribution to the advancement of SH theory by comparing guanxi with other social relationships in terms of their application to SH in different cultures, and recognizing the cultural contingencies that condition the effect of SH on knowledge management performance, thereby generating an important implication for the identification of the different roles that structural-hole owners play in brokerage situations. Finally, by comparing the difference between guanxi and interpersonal relationships in Chinese culture, this study provides a reasonable explanation for guanxi’s moderating effect on SH.Practical implicationsBy uncovering the significance of guanxi cultivation with individuals who occupy yet-to-be-filled SH to make them more committed to the network, this study seeks to provide organizational leaders with helpful suggestions for the creation of incentives to fill SH.Originality/valueBy developing a framework to identify how co-workers strategically leverage their guanxi and SH to facilitate TKA and TKI, this study provides a theoretically defensible and empirically supported solution to the problems experienced by co-workers in applying and integrating tacit knowledge effectively in complex inter-organizational arrangements.

Journal

Journal of Knowledge ManagementEmerald Publishing

Published: Jun 21, 2021

Keywords: Guanxi; Structural holes; Tacit knowledge application; Tacit knowledge integration

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