Purpose

The purpose of this study is to show that an important antecedent of perceived knowledge quality is an employee’s position in the organizational network due to their participation in different interest groups. In particular, this study theorizes that brokers establish a network of groups, which increases perceived knowledge quality vis-a-vis the social capital that employees draw on.

Design/methodology/approach

To test this study’s hypotheses on the influence of the structural position of knowledge brokers on the positive effects of social capital on perceived knowledge quality, this study combines data from an online survey with longitudinal archival data from a youth-care organization who used an enterprise social network (ESN) for knowledge sharing.

Findings

This study found a mitigating effect of being a broker on the relationship between trust and perceived knowledge quality, and also between inter-team interaction and perceived knowledge quality for lower levels of both trust and inter-team interaction on perceived knowledge quality.

Research limitations/implications

Although the hypotheses are supported, in light of prior research, the authors would have expected stronger and positive effects.

Practical implications

This research is particularly interesting because it emphasizes the important role of social capital. For organizations that deal with trust issues, it might help to stimulate employees to broaden their activity on ESNs by becoming active in multiple groups.

Originality/value

While knowledge sharing on ESNs is generally conducive for creating organizational value, there is a lack of understanding of what drives employees’ perception of the quality of shared knowledge, and how this perception may depend on their position in the social network. To investigate this question, the authors turn to social capital theory.

中文翻译：

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企业社交网络上的知识共享质量：社会资本和经纪人的调节作用

目的

本研究的目的是表明感知知识质量的一个重要前提是员工由于参与不同的利益群体而在组织网络中的位置。特别是，这项研究认为经纪人建立了一个群体网络，这可以提高员工所利用的社会资本的感知知识质量。

设计/方法论/途径

为了检验本研究关于知识经纪人的结构地位对社会资本对感知知识质量的积极影响的影响的假设，本研究将在线调查的数据与来自一家青年关怀组织的纵向档案数据结合起来，该组织使用了企业社会资本知识共享网络（ESN）。

发现

这项研究发现，作为经纪人对信任和感知知识质量之间的关系以及团队间互动和感知知识质量之间的关系有缓解作用，因为信任和团队间互动对感知知识质量的影响水平较低。

研究局限性/影响

尽管这些假设得到了支持，但根据之前的研究，作者预计会产生更强烈和积极的影响。

实际影响

这项研究特别有趣，因为它强调了社会资本的重要作用。对于处理信任问题的组织来说，它可能有助于刺激员工通过活跃于多个团体来扩大他们在 ESN 上的活动。

原创性/价值

虽然 ESN 上的知识共享通常有利于创造组织价值，但人们对是什么驱动员工对共享知识质量的看法以及这种看法如何取决于他们在社交网络中的位置缺乏了解。为了研究这个问题，作者转向社会资本理论。