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The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer

The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer. Daniel Z. Levin Rob Cross Management Science (2004) 2002 Lawrence Erlbaum Best Paper Award. Weak Ties: A Story.

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The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer

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  1. The Strength of Weak TiesYou Can Trust:The Mediating Role of Trustin Effective Knowledge Transfer Daniel Z. Levin Rob Cross Management Science (2004)2002 Lawrence Erlbaum Best Paper Award

  2. Weak Ties: A Story Cross gives an Academy talk onthe types of advice people get, witha unique data-collection approach Levin—in audience—has been struggling to find a way to test an idea about knowledge transfer and trust from his own recent interviews with managers.

  3. Weak Ties + Trust Levin e-mails Cross with proposal: “Let’s use your approach to test my trust idea.” They exchange papers and offercomments, quickly building trust They begin a “virtual” collaboration

  4. What Can We Learnfrom This Story? • Useful knowledge can come from strangers (i.e., really weak ties) • You don’t need a strong tie to trust that someone will be benevolent and competent • Researchers need to separate out tie strength (structural) from trust (relational).

  5. Knowledge in Organizations • Knowledge creation and transfer are critical for organizations (Cohen & Levinthal 1990; Kogut & Zander 1992, 1996; Spender 1996; Argote 1999) • Knowledge is difficult to transfer, even within organizations (Zander & Kogut 1995; Szulanski 2000) • Knowledge transfer, when it occurs,is often based on interpersonal relationships (Pelz & Andrews 1968; Mintzberg 1973; Allen 1977; Cross 2001)

  6. Research Question:From Whom Do People Report Getting Useful Knowledge on Important Projects at Work?

  7. 3 Aspects of Knowledge Transfer Structural weak vs. strong ties Relational trust Granovetter, 1973 Mayer et al., 1995 Tsai & Ghoshal, 1998 Zaheer et al., 1998 Krackhardt, 1992 Ghoshal et al., 1994 Zand, 1972 Current Study Hansen, 1999 Szulanski, 1996 Nonaka, 1994 Polanyi, 1966 Knowledge tacit vs. explicit Zander & Kogut, 1995

  8. Survey Methods • Two-stage, critical-incident, egocentric network survey • 127 respondents reported on 4 relationships (n=508), response rate=48% • Same results in three companies: U.S. drug co., Canadian oil & gas co., U.K. bank • Controls: formal structure; demographic similarity; receiver’s own expertise • Hierarchical linear modeling for nested data

  9. Factor Analysis

  10. Ruling OutAlternative Explanations Nonwork-related Friendship Availability of Knowledge Source Formal Structure (function, level, project, proximity) Demographic Similarity (age, gender) Factors beyond Source’s Control X X X X X

  11. (1) Strong Ties Are Useful… Tie Strength Receipt of Useful Knowledge +

  12. (1) Strong Ties Are Useful……Because They Are Trusted Competence Trust + + Tie Strength Receipt of Useful Knowledge Benevolence Trust + +

  13. (2) Controlling for Trust, Weak Ties Are Actually More Useful Competence Trust + + Tie Strength Receipt of Useful Knowledge Benevolence Trust + + –

  14. (3) Interaction Effect for Tacitness Competence Is Critical For Tacit Knowledge + Competence Trust + + Tie Strength Receipt of Useful Knowledge Benevolence Trust + + –

  15. D.V.=Perceived Receipt of Useful Knowledge

  16. Contribution… • …to org. learning and knowledge lit.:Support for structural-relational-knowledge (SRK)perspective of knowledge transfer • …to social network lit.:Weak ties + trust are not only possible but maybe even desirable

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