Pepperdine Graziadio Professor Cristina Gibson Leads Global Knowledge Management Research Paper in Organizational Science
Cristina Gibson, PhD, Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Management led a team of researchers
who examined global teams using technology and knowledge management. The research
found, despite the dynamic nature of knowledge-related activities and the availability
of a variety of communication technologies, many global teams habitually use technology
in the same way across activities. However, as teams move through cycles of accumulating,
integrating, and implementing knowledge, the purposes for communication technologies
change. Current theorizing and empirical work on team knowledge management has yet
to develop a dynamic theory that incorporates these changes. By conducting a multiwave,
mixed method analysis of 48 global teams, the researchers developed a theory of how
global teams sustain effectiveness through technology affordance processes. The researchers
found effective teams recognize cues indicating change is necessary and coevolve a
symbiosis between new activities, new purposes for interaction, and new uses of communication
technologies. This coevolution of purpose with technology use forms new affordances,
which enable the team to move on to new knowledge management activities and sustain
effectiveness.This theory more realistically models the dynamics of staying connected
while sharing, combining, and implementing knowledge across the globe.
The full article is available on Organizational Science’s website here.