Knowledgesharing

INFORMATION AND ORGANIZATION
Information and Organization 17 (2007) 27–58
www.elsevier.com/locate/infoandorg




Mechanisms for sharing knowledge in project-based organizations

Wai Fong Boh *

Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, S3-B2A-14, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore

Received 17 February 2006;received in revised form 21 October 2006; accepted 27 October 2006




Abstract

Organizations need to effectively combine and utilize knowledge resources that are distributed amongst the employees and groups in the firm. This paper examines the use of knowledge-sharing mechanisms to leverage the learning, experience and expertise of employees accumulated across pro- jects. I specifya framework that classifies the knowledge-sharing mechanisms used by project-based organizations. Prior research tends to examine only one dimension of knowledge-sharing mecha- nisms – personalization versus codification. Personalization mechanisms are often assumed to be more ad hoc and informal, and codification mechanisms are assumed to be formal and involve the use of electronicdatabases. In this paper, personalization versus codification and individualiza- tion versus institutionalization are highlighted as two distinct dimensions of knowledge-sharing mechanisms. Individualized knowledge-sharing mechanisms are informal and unstructured, while institutionalized knowledge-sharing mechanisms are formal and embedded in organizational rou- tines and structure. Aframework is presented to show how the two dimensions interact. Based on empirical case studies in two project-based organizations, the paper examines if there are suitable configurations of knowledge-sharing mechanisms for organizations with different characteristics. The study contributes to research by providing a more nuanced classification of knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and providesguidance to managers about the types of knowledge-sharing mechanisms that should be adopted based on the size, geographical dispersion and task nature of organizations.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Organizational learning; Project-based organizations; Case studies; Knowledge-sharing mechanisms



* Tel.: +65 6790 6196; fax: +412 6792 2313.
E-mail address:awfboh@ntu.edu.sg.

1471-7727/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.infoandorg.2006.10.001
28 W.F. Boh / Information and Organization 17 (2007) 27–58

1. Introduction

In project-based organizations (PBOs), the knowledge, capabilities and resources of the firm are built up through the execution of major projects. Projects are oftenthe major business endeavor and the normal mechanism for executing new business oppor- tunities. Organizing work by projects allow organizations to respond flexibly to chang- ing organizational needs, but PBOs face significant challenges in achieving economies of scale, coordinating cross-project resources, facilitating organization-wide develop- ment and promoting organization-widelearning (Hobday, 2000). While it is a miscon- ception to think that there is no learning across projects since there are little commonalities across projects (Cooper, Lyneis, & Bryant, 2002), the challenges in facil- itating knowledge sharing across projects are well-recognized (Brusoni, Prencipe, & Pavitt, 2001; Cooper et al., 2002; DeFillippi & Arthur, 1998). Thetemporary and cus- tomized nature of each project makes it difficult for such organizations to learn and build up their knowledge capabilities from one project to another (Meyerson, Weick,
& Kramer, 1996). Each project is customized and thus tends to differ from another in several critical aspects. As projects are transient, special effort needs to be invested to glean...