Can I borrow your expertise? Integrating transactive memory system, social network, and social resources theory.

摘要

As information and knowledge are increasingly critical resources in organizations, a key question facing organizations today is 'knowing who knows what' rather than 'knowing what.' However, awareness of others' expertise does not necessarily lead to the utilization of that knowledge. Integrating transactive memory system, social network, and social resources theory, this study investigates expertise utilization processes at the interpersonal level. Drawn from 71 individuals and 1,898 observations of expertise utilization, the findings show that when team members' expertise is high, and individuals perceive themselves as lacking expertise, individuals are more likely to retrieve expertise from team members. The results also indicate that tie strength and psychological empowerment moderate expertise utilization process. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.