A moderated mediation model linking transactive memory system and social media with shared leadership and team innovation

This study examines how and to what extent social and technological factors promote shared leadership that leads to team innovation in knowledge work teams. It hypothesizes that a transactive memory system influence team innovation and shared leadership conduits the relationship between them. Additionally, the relationship effectiveness between the transactive memory system and shared leadership increases with the use of social media by team members. Time-lagged, multi-sourced data are collected from the information technology industry in China. In addition, we used a network-based measure to assess the level of shared leadership in teams. Empirical analysis found support for the hypotheses of this study. The results reveal that transactive memory system is a significant predictor of team innovation and the shared leadership channels the relationship between transactive memory system and team innovation. Furthermore, use of social media by team members amplifies the relationship between transactive memory system and shared leadership. The implications of the study are discussed in the later sections.

A socio-technical system approach to knowledge creation and team performance: evidence from China

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to extend the existing literature on knowledge management, which generally focuses on knowledge sharing. The model of this article explains how knowledge creation and team performance can be increased through the integration of social and technological factors

Design/methodology/approach

To empirically test the model, multi-wave and multi-source data were collected from 80 teams whose members use social media as a tool for communication and interaction.

Findings

The analysis results provide insights into some interesting findings. The results show transactive memory system (TMS) as an important factor that can significantly contribute to knowledge creation in teams. Especially, the TMS strengthens the significant positive effect of enterprise social media (ESM) and insignificant positive effect of knowledge complementarity on knowledge creation. Furthermore, knowledge creation is found to be a significant predictor of team performance

Originality/value

Much of the knowledge management literature focuses on the ways to increase the quantity of accessible knowledge to organization members. Such knowledge management studies are more relevant to knowledge exchange among individual employees, teams and organizations. However, this study takes a nuanced approach to explore how knowledge creation can be increased in teams by implementing a knowledge integration mechanism. A general model of knowledge creation is proposed, but the strength of this model lies in the moderating effect of TMS which strengthens the effect of knowledge complementarity and ESM on knowledge creation in teams which eventually increases team performance.

The Influence of Transactive Memory System on Individual Career Resilience: The Role of Taking Charge and Self-Promotion

The transactive memory system is known as an effective group cognitive system as well as a knowledge-sharing structure for organizations to keep competitive advantages in today's dynamic and knowledge-based business environment. However, its influence at the individual level remains vague. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of a transactive memory system (TMS) on individual career resilience through the theoretical perspective of conservation of resources theory (COR). This research proposes and examines a moderated mediation model that elaborates how a transactive memory system affects individual career resilience. A two-stage empirical study was conducted among 328 employees from companies in China. The findings suggest that a transactive memory system significantly influences individual career resilience positively, and employee taking-charge behavior plays a mediating role in that relationship. Furthermore, the results supported our moderated mediation model, which indicates that individuals with high self-promotion motives are more likely to engage in taking-charge behavior than those with low self-promotion motives, and the former reported higher career resilience than the latter eventually. Theoretical and practical implications are also provided in the discussion section.

Within- and Between-Team Coordination via Transactive Memory Systems and Boundary Spanning

In this article, we suggest that the transactive memory system (TMS) and boundary-spanning literatures are useful for understanding how individuals in team-based collectives can be structured to improve within- and between-team coordination. We argue that such coordination can be facilitated—or thwarted—by boundary-spanning behaviors and patterns of knowledge exchange within and between teams. Our theorizing explains how an existing team TMS can offset the within-team coordination burdens typically associated with boundary spanning and we offer predictions about how these factors interrelate to affect TMS and coordination over time. Finally, our theory underscores significant implications and provides insights for how management practices might improve coordination within and between teams.