The%20Strength%20of%20Weak%20Ties%20You%20Can%20Trust:%20The%20Mediating%20Role%20of%20Trust%20in%20Effective%20Knowledge%20Transfer

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The Strength of Weak TiesYou Can TrustThe
Mediating Role of Trustin Effective Knowledge
Transfer

• Daniel Z. Levin
• Rob Cross
• Management Science (2004)2002 Lawrence Erlbaum
  Best Paper Award

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Weak Ties A Story

• Cross gives an Academy talk onthe types of
  advice people get, witha unique data-collection
  approach
• Levinin audiencehas been struggling to find a
  way to test an idea about knowledge transfer
  and trust from his own recent interviews with
  managers.

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Weak Ties Trust

• Levin e-mails Cross with proposal Lets use
  your approach to test my trust idea.
• They exchange papers and offercomments, quickly
  building trust
• They begin a virtual collaboration

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What Can We Learnfrom This Story?

• Useful knowledge can come from strangers (i.e.,
  really weak ties)
• You dont need a strong tie to trust that someone
  will be benevolent and competent
• Researchers need to separate out tie strength
  (structural) from trust (relational).

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Knowledge in Organizations

• Knowledge creation and transfer are critical for
  organizations (Cohen Levinthal 1990 Kogut
  Zander 1992, 1996 Spender 1996 Argote 1999)
• Knowledge is difficult to transfer, even within
  organizations (Zander Kogut 1995 Szulanski
  2000)
• Knowledge transfer, when it occurs, is often
  based on interpersonal relationships (Pelz
  Andrews 1968 Mintzberg 1973 Allen 1977 Cross
  2001)

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Research QuestionFrom Whom Do People Report
Getting Useful Knowledge on Important Projects at
Work?
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3 Aspects of Knowledge Transfer
Structural weak vs. strong ties
Relational trust
Mayer et al., 1995
Granovetter, 1973
Tsai Ghoshal, 1998
Zaheer et al., 1998
Krackhardt, 1992
Ghoshal et al., 1994
Zand, 1972
Current Study
Hansen, 1999
Szulanski, 1996
Nonaka, 1994
Polanyi, 1966
Knowledge tacit vs. explicit
Zander Kogut, 1995
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Survey Methods

• Two-stage, critical-incident, egocentric network
  survey
• 127 respondents reported on 4 relationships
  (n508), response rate48
• Same results in three companies U.S. drug co.,
  Canadian oil gas co., U.K. bank
• Controls formal structure demographic
  similarity receivers own expertise
• Hierarchical linear modeling for nested data

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Factor Analysis
Survey Item Benevolence Trust Tie Strength Competence Trust
Look out for me Avoid damaging me Care about me .91 .87 .64 .08 -.05 -.17 .00 -.03 .16
Closeness Communication Interaction .05 .01 -.03 -.87 -.85 -.84 .05 -.04 .01
Professional/dedicated Competent/prepared -.05 .07 -.02 .03 .88 .75
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Ruling OutAlternative Explanations
X

• Nonwork-related Friendship
• Availability of Knowledge Source
• Formal Structure (function, level, project,
  proximity)
• Demographic Similarity (age, gender)
• Factors beyond Sources Control

X
X
X
X
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(1) Strong Ties Are Useful
Tie Strength
Receipt of Useful Knowledge

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(1) Strong Ties Are UsefulBecause They Are
Trusted
Competence Trust


Tie Strength
Receipt of Useful Knowledge
Benevolence Trust


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(2) Controlling for Trust, Weak Ties Are Actually
More Useful
Competence Trust


Tie Strength
Receipt of Useful Knowledge
Benevolence Trust



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(3) Interaction Effect for Tacitness
Competence Is Critical For Tacit Knowledge

Competence Trust


Tie Strength
Receipt of Useful Knowledge
Benevolence Trust



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D.V.Perceived Receipt of Useful Knowledge
Variable Eq.1 Eq.2 Eq.3 Eq.4 Eq.5
Intercept, controls controls not reported here controls not reported here controls not reported here controls not reported here controls not reported here
Tacit Knowledge -.23 -.22 -.16 -.16 -.16
Tie Strength .21 -.08 -.08
Benevolence Trust .20 .22 .22
Competence Trust .23 .23 .22
CompetenceTacit .05
R2 .56 .57 .69 .70 .71
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Contribution

• to org. learning and knowledge lit.Support for
  structural-relational-knowledge (SRK) perspective
  of knowledge transfer
• to social network lit.Weak ties trust are
  not only possible but maybe even desirable