The Mediating Effect of Social Networks on the Influence of Tacit Knowledge on Organizational Learning and the Attendant Impact on Competitive Advantage: Learning from the ICT Content Service Providers Sector in Kenya

Abstract

Social networks are at the heart of human interactions in organizations. Such interactions entail a continuous interchange of explicit and tacit knowledge, resulting in organizational learning; with the attendant positive impact on organizational performance and competitiveness. Scholars have studied different aspects ofthis phenomenon. The current study, using data gathered from 135 ICT content providers based in Nairobi licensed by the Communication Authority of Kenya, adds to the repository of strategic management knowledge by providing empirical evidence showing that social networks have a mediating effect on the influence of tacit knowledge on organizational learning. Further, that organizational learning itself mediates the effect of tacit knowledge on competitive advantage.