工商管理英文论文翻译.docVIP

外文资料翻译 Abstract This paper introduces the concept of knowledge networks toexplain why somebusiness units are able to benefit from knowledgeresiding in other parts of the company while others arenot. The core premise of this concept is that a proper understandingof effective interunit knowledge sharing in a multiunitfirm requires ajoint consideration of relatedness in knowledgecontent among business units and the network of lateral interunitrelations that enables task units to access related knowledge.Results from a study of 120 new product developmentprojects in 41 business units of a large multiunit electronicscompany showed that project teams obtained more existingknowledge from other units and completed their projects fasterto the extent that they had short interunit network paths to unitsthat possessedrelated knowledge. In contrast, neither networkconnections nor extent of related knowledge alone explainedthe amount of knowledge obtained and project completion time. The results also showed a contingent effect of having directinterunit relations in knowledge networks: While establisheddirect relations mitigated problems of transferring noncodifiedknowledge, they were harmful when the knowledge to be transferredwas codified, because they were less needed but stillinvolved maintenancecosts. These findings suggest that researchon knowledge transfers and synergies in multiunit firmsshould pursue new perspectives that combine the concepts ofnetwork connections and relatedness in knowledge content.Why are some business unitsable to benefit from knowledgeresiding in other parts of the company while othersare not? Both strategic management and organization theoryscholars have extensively researched this question,but differences in focus between the various approacheshave left us with an incomplete understanding of whatcauses knowledge sharing to occur and be beneficialacross business units in multiunit firms. In oneline ofresearch, scholars have focused on simila