From group-based work to organisational learning: the role of communication forms and knowledge sharing

Abstract

This paper examines the role of group-based work as a knowledge sharing mechanism in fostering organisational learning. Relying on insights from communication research, the paper develops a set of propositions highlighting the role of communication forms in mediating the effect of group-based work on knowledge sharing. Our view on group-based work is grounded in the philosophical perspective on organisational learning as occurring through interaction. This perspective emphasises the role of communication as the foundational basis for knowledge sharing and learning. Group-based work structures communication and creates conditions for sharing knowledge among organisational members. Drawing on cultural psychology research that reveals that people from different cultures have different cognitive styles and, thus, process and interpret information differently, the paper proposes a link between cognitive styles and preferences for different communication forms. It suggests that effectiveness of knowledge sharing in group-based work depends on whether the latter supports culturally preferred communication forms.

Keywords:

• group-based work
• communication forms
• knowledge sharing
• knowledge governance
• cognitive style
• organisational learning

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Snejina Michailova

About the authors

Snejina Michailova, Ph.D. from Copenhagen Business School, is Professor of International Business at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research areas are International Management and Knowledge Management. Her work has appeared in Academy of Management Executive, Business Strategy Review, California Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of World Business, International Management, Management International Review, Long Range Planning, Management Learning, Organizational Dynamics and other journals. She has edited books on knowledge governance (Oxford University Press), HRM (Routledge), and research methodologies (Palgrave Macmillan). She was Editor Europe of Journal of World Business from 2001 to 2007 and is currently Associate Editor of Critical Perspectives on International Business and Senior Editor of Journal of Asia Business Studies.

Elena Sidorova holds Bachelor and Master's degrees from University of Auckland, New Zealand, Far Eastern State Transport University, and Khabarovsk State Pedagogical University, Russia. Her professional background is in education, linguistics and management. Along with her business career, Elena is conducting research in the areas of knowledge management and intercultural communication. She has published in Organisations and Markets in Emerging Economies.