How Do People Seek Knowledge in Information System Projects: A New Perspective from Social Network Theory

Abstract

Why does a project team member prefer some colleagues to others in knowledge seeking? Past literature suggests that the physical accessibility of a knowledge source, the knowledge quality of the source and relational concerns are important to such choice. Our social network analysis of an information systems (IS) project team indicates that job interdependence and rank have a significant impact on knowledge sourcing frequency. In contrast, personal relationship and the knowledge quality of source have no significant effect. This finding suggests both the importance of structural factors in knowledge sourcing and the context-dependent nature of knowledge sourcing behavior.