Facilitating Knowledge Sharing through Inter-action Research

The significance of knowledge in organizations is evident. There is considerable effort in theory as well as in practice on how to foster knowledge as a resource in organizations (see for example Grant, 1996, Tsoukas, 1996). In comparison with traditional resources, knowledge, especially the tacit dimension, differs because of its immaterial characteristics (concerning the concept of tacit knowledge see Polanyi, 1983, Krogh and Venzin, 1995 or Baumard, 1999). Knowledge cannot be transferred like a package of materials, but it is shared among individuals. According to the Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation (see Nonaka, 1992, Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995, Krogh et. al., 2000), knowledge is generated through a process of interaction of tacit and explicit knowledge. Knowledge is either transformed within one single person or among a group of people. What matters is, knowledge is neither given nor pre-defined, but created through a process of individual interpretation and personal construction. Both the generation of new knowledge as well as the deployment of already existing knowledge are based on processes of interaction (see Schneider, 1996, 19 or more generally at Argyris et. al., 1985, Argyris, 1993), which, in turn, are built on the interplay among the individuals within a knowledge network (see also the concept of Communities of Practice Brown and Duguid, 1999 or Lave and Wenger, 1991). The crucial interplay depends on the communication process within those people, for example how they can explain their ideas to each other. It is about the way in which people are putting information together to make sense of situations. In fact, it is about perceptions and personal or collective constructs of the individuals involved on a specific knowledge field. Thus, knowledge is highly dependant upon people’s perceptions (see Krogh et. al., 1994, 55). Perceptions, which are guiding the information selection process, are not necessarily conscious (see Sparrow, 1998, 10f). They are often embedded in cultural values, norms and beliefs within organizations (see for example Sackmann, 2000). 2 Apart from the theoretical framework the paper reports an empirical research on knowledge sharing and the underlying processes of interaction. An action research approach was applied in order to be able to explore the prevalent interaction processes in situ. Thus, besides theoretical insights the research also supports participants in their business context. The unit of analysis was a group of five people, a consulting team, which is part of a large manufacturing corporation. Research concentrated on how team members were sharing and knowledge while carrying out their consulting projects. Considering the above mentioned on mental models and perceptions the study focused on what factors are influencing people’s interaction in organizations in a particular field and how are these factors related to each other. After identifying the most important elements in the field a cognitive mapping procedure was conducted to structure the data generated and visualize prevalent processes. The maps symbolized a starting point for discussion and enabled processes of reflection on the status quo, how people perceived the prevailing situation. However, discussion and reflection affected participants’ mental models and constructs in the field researched in turn.