thesis_Daniela Noethen_print final - Jacobs University

Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer in Work Teams: A Multilevel Social Network Perspective
effect of age on knowledge transfer mainly exists because with age, team tenure increases
(and, thus, experience and knowledge), and this in turn has an influence on knowledge
transfer. Other factors such as OCB would then not play a dominant role in the explanation of
the age effect.
The presented hypotheses are summarized in a research model that is displayed in Figure
3. In the following, we will describe how this model can be empirically tested using a
multilevel social network approach.
3.3.1. Multilevel social network approach
A social network can be defined as “a set of actors and one or more relations between the
actors” (Contractor, Wasserman, & Faust, 2006, p. 682). Within organizations, many
processes and structures have been described in terms of such social networks, e.g., the
diffusion and adoption of innovations (Coleman, Katz, & Menzel, 1957, 1966; Rogers, 1979)
Figure 3. Model of factors influencing knowledge transfer within teams.
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