Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intellectual ...

Facilitating Distributed Networks <strong>of</strong> Knowledge: A
Boundary Management Perspective
Eli Hustad 1 and Aurilla Aurelie Bechina 2
1
University <strong>of</strong> Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
2
Buskerud University College, Kongsberg, Norway
Eli.Hustad@uia.no
Aurillaa@hihm.no
Abstract: Today, <strong>the</strong>re is a large recognition amongst academics and practitioners that Innovation capability and
organizational performance can be stimulated by fostering knowledge sharing and creation. Several
organizational initiatives have focused on building communities <strong>of</strong> practice within an organization in order to
create a platform where employees can share experiences and insights. The focus in this paper is on one type <strong>of</strong>
network structure termed Distributed Networks <strong>of</strong> Knowledge (DNoK). This network structure constitutes an intercommunity
formation consisting <strong>of</strong> multiple co-located communities where participants belong to a co-located
community as well as <strong>the</strong> distributed network, and knowledge sharing occurs between dispersed participants
crossing different practices and geographical locations. The last decade has seen a debate whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>
increased formalization can negatively or positively affect <strong>the</strong> creativity <strong>of</strong> communities <strong>of</strong> practice. Communities
<strong>of</strong> practice were originally conceptualized as emerging, self-organizing, and socially constructed systems. In <strong>the</strong>
management literature, scholars have concentrated on how to enable a climate for <strong>the</strong>se groups by exploiting
<strong>the</strong>m more effectively. By cultivating <strong>the</strong>ir activities, <strong>the</strong>y assume that communities <strong>of</strong> practice may stimulate
innovation and organizational performance. Some previous research studies, however, demonstrate that
increased formalization can negatively affect <strong>the</strong> creativity <strong>of</strong> communities <strong>of</strong> practice. Moreover, <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
leadership has been extensively discussed in communities <strong>of</strong> practice setting. However, this paper intends to
shed a new light by exploring <strong>the</strong> Boundary Management perspective in order to enable <strong>the</strong> knowledge sharing
and creation within this specific context <strong>of</strong> Distributed Network <strong>of</strong> Knowledge. To this end, we have conducted an
investigation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> leadership styles in four different distributed networks <strong>of</strong> knowledge in a multinational
firm. The leadership style as a boundary spanner included motivation <strong>of</strong> geographically dispersed members to be
active participants, ensuring an autonomous environment for knowledge creation, acknowledging contributions,
building trust and identity and bringing necessary resources into <strong>the</strong> networks to provide available time to
participate and <strong>the</strong> required collaboration infrastructure.
Keywords distributed networks <strong>of</strong> knowledge, leadership style, cultivation, boundary spanner, boundary
management
1. Introduction
Researchers and practitioners alike have suggested that communities <strong>of</strong> practice (CoPs) are
significant for knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, learning and innovation within organizations
(Brown & Duguid 2001; Lave & Wenger 1991). The concept <strong>of</strong> CoP describes self-organizing groups
that emerge naturally consisting <strong>of</strong> individuals conducting practice-related tasks. Several
organizational initiatives have focused on building communities <strong>of</strong> practice within an organization in
order to create a platform where employees can share experiences and insights.
The focus in this paper is on one type <strong>of</strong> network structure termed distributed network <strong>of</strong> knowledge
(DNoK). This network structure constitutes an inter-community assembly consisting <strong>of</strong> multiple colocated
communities where participants belong to a co-located community as well as <strong>the</strong> distributed
network, and knowledge sharing occurs between dispersed participants. Within an organization,
DNoKs typically consist <strong>of</strong> weaker ties linking geographically dispersed individuals across an
organization that are working on similar tasks using a similar base <strong>of</strong> knowledge (Granovetter
1973).In distributed work, participants within <strong>the</strong>se distributed communities <strong>of</strong>ten use ICT-based
communication tools such as email, videoconferences, intranet and o<strong>the</strong>r collaboration tools to share
knowledge.
To ‘manage’ organizational groups like communities <strong>of</strong> practice, seem to be somewhat paradoxical
given that <strong>the</strong> most important characteristics <strong>of</strong> such communities are emerging, self-organizing
groups, developing over time, built upon trust and personal relationships (e.g. Brown & Duguid 1991;
Lave & Wenger 1991). Often <strong>the</strong>ir existence and interactions are spontaneous and beside <strong>the</strong> control
mechanisms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> formal organizations, and thus <strong>the</strong>y have to be distinguished from project teams
which are goal- and deadline oriented (Wenger & Snyder 2000)
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