Hostname: page-component-5b777bbd6c-gcwzt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-21T11:31:44.170Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

When and how knowledge sharing benefits team creativity: The importance of cognitive team diversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2017

Chenghao Men ,
Patrick S W Fong ,
Jinlian Luo ,
Jing Zhong  and
Weiwei Huo
Chenghao Men
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Management, Tongji Universtiy, Shanghai, China Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Patrick S W Fong
Affiliation:
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Jinlian Luo*
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Management, Tongji Universtiy, Shanghai, China
Jing Zhong
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Management, Tongji Universtiy, Shanghai, China
Weiwei Huo
Affiliation:
SHU-UTS SILC Business School, Shanghai University
*
Corresponding author: luojl@tjhrd.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this paper, we explored the role of knowledge sharing on team creativity through absorptive capacity and knowledge integration, and tested the condition under which knowledge sharing is positively related to absorptive capacity and knowledge integration. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 86 knowledge worker teams involving 381 employees and employers in China. Results demonstrate that knowledge sharing was positively related to team creativity, fully mediated by both absorptive capacity and knowledge integration. In addition, cognitive team diversity played a moderating role in the relationship between knowledge sharing and absorptive capacity, as well as in the relationship between knowledge sharing and knowledge integration. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings on knowledge management and team creativity are discussed.

Keywords

knowledge sharingabsorptive capacityknowledge integrationteam creativitycognitive team diversity
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 25 , Issue 6 , November 2019 , pp. 807 - 824
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Amabile, T. A. (1988). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 10(10), 123–167.Google Scholar
Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview.Google Scholar
Bao, G. M., Xu, B. X., & Zhang, Z. Y. (2016). Employees’ trust and their knowledge sharing and integration: The mediating roles of organizational identification and organization based self-esteem. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 14(3), 362–375.Google Scholar
Bliese, P. D. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability, implications for data aggregation and analysis. In K. J. Klein & S. W. J. Kozlowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research and methods in organizations (pp. 349–381). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Bodla, A. A., Tang, N. Y., Jiang, W., & Tian, L. W. (2016). Diversity and creativity in cross-national teams: The role of team knowledge sharing and inclusive climate. Journal of Management & Organization, 2016, 1–19.Google Scholar
Boer, M., Bosch, F. A. J., & Volberda, H. W. (1999). Managing organizational knowledge integration in the emerging multimedia complex. Journal of Management Studies, 36(3), 379–398.Google Scholar
Cerne, M., Nestad, C. G. L., & Skervalaj, M. (2014). What goes around comes around: Knowledge hiding, perceived motivational climate, and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 57(1), 172–192.Google Scholar
Chang, S., Gong, Y., Way, S., & Jia, L. (2013). Flexibility-oriented HRM systems, absorptive capacity, and firm innovativeness and market responsiveness. Journal of Management, 39(7), 1924–1951.Google Scholar
Chang, J. J., Hung, K. P., & Lin, M. J. (2014). Knowledge creation and new product performance: The role of creativity. R&D Management, 44(2), 107–123.Google Scholar
Cohen, S. G., & Bailey, D. E. (1997). What makes teams work: Group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite. Journal of Management, 23(3), 239–290.Google Scholar
Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128–152.Google Scholar
Costa, V., & Monteiro, S. (2016). Knowledge processes, absorptive capacity and innovation: A mediation analysis. Knowledge and Process Management, 23(3), 207–218.Google Scholar
Cremades, E., Balbastre-Benavent, F., & Sanandres Dominguez, E. (2015). Managerial practices driving knowledge creation, learning and transfer in translational research: An exploratory case study. R&D Management, 45(4), 361–385.Google Scholar
Dahlin, K. B., Weingart, L. R., & Hinds, P. J. (2005). Team diversity and information use. Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 1107–1123.Google Scholar
Edwards, J. R., & Lambert, L. S. (2007). Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general analytical framework using moderated path analysis. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 1–22.Google Scholar
Farh, J. L., Lee, C., & Farh, C. I. C. (2010). Task conflict and team creativity: A question of how much and when. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(6), 1173–1180.Google Scholar
Farmer, S. M., Tierney, P., & Kung-Mcintyre, K. (2003). Employee creativity in Taiwan: An application of role identity theory. Academy of Management Journal, 46(5), 618–630.Google Scholar
Ford, C. M., & Gioia, D. A. (2000). Factors influencing creativity in the domain of managerial decision making. Journal of Management, 26(4), 705–732.Google Scholar
Gong, Y., Kim, T.-Y., Zhu, J., & Lee, D. R. (2013). A multilevel model of team goal orientation, information exchange, and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 56(3), 827–851.Google Scholar
Harrison, D. A., & Klein, K. J. (2007). What’s the difference? Diversity constructs as separation, variety, or disparity in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1199–1228.Google Scholar
Horwitz, S. J., & Horwitz, I. B. (2007). The effects of teamdiversity on team outcomes: A meta-analytic review of team demography. Journal of Management, 33(6), 987–1015.Google Scholar
Hirst, G., Knippenberg, D. V., & Zhou, J. (2009). A cross-level perspective on employee creativity: Goal orientation, team learning behavior, and individual creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 52(2), 280–293.Google Scholar
Huang, X., Hsieh, J. P. A., & He, W. (2014). Expertise dissimilarity and creativity: The contingent roles of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(5), 816–830.Google Scholar
Jackson, S. E., Joshi, A., & Erhardt, N. L. (2003). Recent research on team and organizational diversity: SWOT analysis and implications. Journal of Management, 29(6), 801–830.Google Scholar
James, L. R., Demaree, R. G., & Wolf, G. (1993). Rwg: An assessment of within-group interrater agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(2), 306–309.Google Scholar
Jansen, J. J. P., Van den Bosch, F. A. J., & Volberda, H. W. (2005). Managing potential and realized absorptive capacity: How do organizational antecedents matter? Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 999–1015.Google Scholar
Jia, L. D., Shaw, J. D., Tsui, A. S., & Park, T. Y. (2014). A social-structural perspective on employee-organization relationships and team creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 57(3), 869–891.Google Scholar
Jehn, K. A., Northcraft, G. B., & Neale, M. A. (1999). Why differences make a difference: A field study of diversity, conflict, and performance in work groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 741–763.Google Scholar
Kearney, E., & Gebert, D. (2009). Managing diversity and enhancing team outcomes: The promise of transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 77–89.Google Scholar
Kearney, E., Gebert, D., & Voelpel, S. C. (2009). When and how diversity benefits teams: The importance of team members’ need for cognition. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 581–598.Google Scholar
Khandwalla, P. N. (1977). The design of organizations. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Kogut, B., & Zander, U. (1992). Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the replication of technology. Organization Science, 3(3), 383–397.Google Scholar
Lee, J. W., Lee, H. J., & Park, J. G. (2014). Exploring the impact of empowering leadership on knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity and team performance in IT service. Information Technology & People, 27(3), 366–386.Google Scholar
Liao, S. H., Fei, W. C., & Chen, C. C. (2007). Knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity, and innovation capability: An empirical study of Taiwan’s knowledge intensive industries. Journal of Information Science, 33(3), 340–359.Google Scholar
Lichtenthaler, U., & Lichtenthaler, E. (2009). A capability-based framework for open innovation: Complementing absorptive capacity. Journal of Management Studies, 46(8), 1315–1338.Google Scholar
Lin, B. W., & Chen, C. J. (2006). Fostering product innovation in industry networks: The mediating role of knowledge integration. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(1), 155–173.Google Scholar
Lowik, S., Kraaijenbrink, J., & Groen, A. (2016). The team absorptive capacity triad: A configurational study of individual, enabling, and motivating factors. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(5), 1083–1103.Google Scholar
Marks, M. A., Mathieu, J. E., & Zaccaro, S. J. (2001). A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team processes. Academy of Management Review, 26(3), 356–376.Google Scholar
Matusik, S. F. & Heeley, M. B. (2005). Absorptive capacity in the software industry: Identifying factors that affect knowledge and knowledge creation activities. Journal of Management, 31(4), 549–572.Google Scholar
Mcadam, R. (2004). Knowledge creation and idea generation: A critical quality perspective. Technovation, 24(9), 697–705.Google Scholar
Minbaeva, D., Pedersen, T., Bjorkman, I., Fey, C. F., & Park, H. J. (2003). MNC knowledge transfer, subsidiary absorptive capacity, and HRM. Journal of International Business Studies, 34(6), 586–599.Google Scholar
Moon, J. A. (1999). Reflection in learning and professional development. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Mumford, M. D. (2000). Something old, something new: Revisiting Guilford’s conception of creative problem solving. Creativity Research Journal, 13(3–4), 267–276.Google Scholar
Mumford, M., & Gustafson, S. (1988). Creativity syndrome: Integration, application, and innovation. Psychological Bulletin, 103(1), 27–43.Google Scholar
Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organizational Science, 5(1), 14–37.Google Scholar
Oldham, G. R., & Cummings, A. (1996). Employee creativity: Personal and contextual factors at work. Academy of Management Journal, 39(3), 607–634.Google Scholar
Perry-Smith, J. E. (2006). Social yet creative: The role of social relationships in facilitating individual creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 49(1), 85–101.Google Scholar
Perry-Smith, J. E., & Shalley, C. E. (2003). The social side of creativity: A static and dynamic social network perspective. Academy of Management Review, 28(1), 89–106.Google Scholar
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, 36(4), 717–731.Google Scholar
Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42(1), 185–227.Google Scholar
Rousseau, D. (1985). Issues of level in organizational research: multilevel and cross-level perspectives. In L. L. Cummings, & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (vol. 7, pp. 1–37). Greenwich, CT: JAI.Google Scholar
Sankowska, A., & Söderlund, J. (2015). Trust, reflexivity and knowledge integration: Toward a conceptual framework concerning mobile engineers. Human Relations, 68(6), 973–1000.Google Scholar
Schulze, A., & Hoegl, M. (2008). Organizational knowledge creation and the generation of new product ideas: A behavioral approach. Research Policy, 37(10), 1742–1750.Google Scholar
Shin, S. J., Kim, T. Y., Lee, J. Y., & Bian, L. (2012). Cognitive team diversity and individual team creativity: A cross-level interaction. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 197–212.Google Scholar
Shin, S. J., & Zhou, J. (2007). When is educational specialization heterogeneity related to creativity in research and development teams? Transformational leadership as a moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1709–1721.Google Scholar
Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422–445.Google Scholar
Söderlund, J., & Bredin, K. (2011). Participants in the process of knowledge integration. In C. Berggren, A. Bergek, L. Bengtsson et al. (Eds.), Knowledge integration and innovation: Critical challenges facing technology-based firms (pp. 97–122). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Somech, A., & Drach-Zahavy, A. (2013). Translating team creativity to innovation implementation: The role of team composition and climate for innovation. Journal of Management, 39(3), 684–708.Google Scholar
Srivastava, A., Bartol, K. M., & Locke, E. A. (2006). Empowering leadership in management teams: Effects on knowledge sharing, efficacy, and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(6), 1239–1251.Google Scholar
Tzabbar, D., Aharonson, B. S., & Amburgey, T. L. (2013). When does tapping external sources of knowledge result in knowledge integration? Research Policy, 42(2), 481–494.Google Scholar
Tell, F. (2011). Knowledge integration and innovation: A survey of the field. In C. Berggren, A. Bergek, L. Bengtsson et al. (Eds.), Knowledge integration and innovation: Critical challenges facing international technology-based firms (pp. 20–58). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Van der Vegt, G. S., & Janssen, O. (2003). Joint impact of interdependence and group diversity on innovation. Journal of Management, 29(5), 729–751.Google Scholar
Warner, R. M., Kenny, D. A., & Stoto, M. (1979). A new round robin analysis of variance for social interaction data. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(10), 1742–1757.Google Scholar
Williams, K. Y., & O’Reilly, C. A. III (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research. Research in Organizational Behavior, 20(3), 77–140.Google Scholar
Zahra, S. A., & George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualisation, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185–203.Google Scholar
Zhang, A. Y., Tsui, A. S., & Wang, D. X. (2011). Leadership behaviors and group creativity in Chinese organizations: The role of group processes. Leadership Quarterly, 22(5), 851–862.Google Scholar
Zhou, K. Z., & Li, C. B. (2012). How knowledge affects radical innovation: Knowledge base, market knowledge acquisition, and internal knowledge sharing. Strategic Management Journal, 33(9), 1090–1102.Google Scholar