IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ininma/v38y2018i1p167-174.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Knowledge management in OSS communities: Relationship between dense and sparse network structures

Author

Listed:
  • Behfar, Stefan Kambiz
  • Turkina, Ekaterina
  • Burger-Helmchen, Thierry

Abstract

Some authors in the literature have addressed knowledge transfer via weak ties between organization’s units which are themselves strongly tied inside (e.g. Hansen, 1999). Some others have investigated knowledge management among open-source-software (OSS) developers and discussed factors influencing knowledge transfer within development teams (e.g. Joshi and Sarker, 2006). In the domain of open source software (OSS) communities, more companies are now attempting to establish relationships to benefit from these potential value-creating communities; and project managers could in fact target different goals within software development teams including knowledge transfer within and between teams. We step forward to distinguish knowledge transfer within groups as opposed to knowledge transfer between groups; where relevant projects are bundled into separate strongly intra-connected groups. In knowledge management literature there is a trade-off between sparse network structures (Burt, 2000, 2002) versus dense network structures (Walker et al., 1997; Coleman, 1988). It is argued that the former facilitates the diffusion and generation of ideas among groups, while the latter affects the implementation of idea within each dense group. To our best knowledge, there has been no study to investigate the relationship between dense and sparse network structures. We propose that knowledge transfer within dense groups has a positive influence on knowledge transfer between sparse groups, in that intragroup density, group size, developers centrality and betweenness could impact intergroup coupling. To prove our hypothesis, we use a complex network of open source software (OSS) as the domain of interest, where developers represent nodes and two developers contributing to a project task represent a network tie. Developers contributing to tasks in groups other than their own can explore novel ideas via sharing knowledge, whereas developers contributing to tasks inside groups exploit ideas to improve those projects. We investigate the idea both analytically and empirically within 4 months, 8 months and 1year lagged time, and finally show that intragroup density has a positive whereas developers’ centrality has a negative influence on intergroup coupling.

Suggested Citation

  • Behfar, Stefan Kambiz & Turkina, Ekaterina & Burger-Helmchen, Thierry, 2018. "Knowledge management in OSS communities: Relationship between dense and sparse network structures," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 167-174.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:38:y:2018:i:1:p:167-174
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.09.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401217306072
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.09.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Param Vir Singh & Yong Tan & Nara Youn, 2011. "A Hidden Markov Model of Developer Learning Dynamics in Open Source Software Projects," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 790-807, December.
    2. Jackson, Matthew O. & Wolinsky, Asher, 1996. "A Strategic Model of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 44-74, October.
    3. Gordon Walker & Bruce Kogut & Weijian Shan, 1997. "Social Capital, Structural Holes and the Formation of an Industry Network," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 109-125, April.
    4. George P. Huber, 1991. "Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 88-115, February.
    5. Frank G. van Oort & Oedzge A. L. C. Atzema, 2004. "On the conceptualization of agglomeration economies: The case of new firm formation in the Dutch ICT sector," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 38(2), pages 263-290, June.
    6. Wenpin Tsai, 2000. "Social capital, strategic relatedness and the formation of intraorganizational linkages," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(9), pages 925-939, September.
    7. Udo Zander & Bruce Kogut, 1995. "Knowledge and the Speed of the Transfer and Imitation of Organizational Capabilities: An Empirical Test," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 76-92, February.
    8. Stefan Behfar & Ekaterina Turkina & Thierry Burger-Helmchen, 2017. "Network tie structure causing OSS group innovation and growth," Post-Print hal-02153061, HAL.
    9. Rajdeep Grewal & Gary L. Lilien & Girish Mallapragada, 2006. "Location, Location, Location: How Network Embeddedness Affects Project Success in Open Source Systems," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(7), pages 1043-1056, July.
    10. Rost, Katja, 2011. "The strength of strong ties in the creation of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 588-604, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Menéndez-Caravaca, Eloísa & Bueno, Salvador & Gallego, M. Dolores, 2021. "Exploring the link between free and open source software and the collaborative economy: A Delphi-based scenario for the year 2025," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    2. Li Li & Haifen Lin & Yibo Lyu, 2022. "Technology cluster coupling and invulnerability of industrial innovation networks: the role of centralized structure and technological turbulence," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(3), pages 1209-1231, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stefan Behfar & Ekaterina Turkina & Thierry Burger-Helmchen, 2017. "Network tie structure causing OSS group innovation and growth," Post-Print hal-02153061, HAL.
    2. Chen, Xiaomeng & Forman, Christopher & Kummer, Michael E., 2021. "Chat more and contribute better: An empirical study of a knowledge-sharing community," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-061, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    3. Carayol, Nicolas & Bergé, Laurent & Cassi, Lorenzo & Roux, Pascale, 2019. "Unintended triadic closure in social networks: The strategic formation of research collaborations between French inventors," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 218-238.
    4. Mauro Napoletano & Stefano Battiston & Michael D König & Frank Schweitzer, 2008. "The efficiency and evolution of R&D Networks," Working Papers hal-01066189, HAL.
    5. Wonsang Ryu & Thomas H. Brush & Joonhyung Bae, 2023. "How agglomeration affects alliance governance and innovation performance: The role of cluster size," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(1), pages 297-310, January.
    6. Haider, Sajjad & Mariotti, Francesca, 2016. "The orchestration of alliance portfolios: The role of alliance portfolio capability," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 127-141.
    7. Christina Fang & Jeho Lee & Melissa A. Schilling, 2010. "Balancing Exploration and Exploitation Through Structural Design: The Isolation of Subgroups and Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(3), pages 625-642, June.
    8. Walter, Jorge & Lechner, Christoph & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2007. "Knowledge transfer between and within alliance partners: Private versus collective benefits of social capital," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 698-710, July.
    9. Tippmann, Esther & Sharkey Scott, Pamela & Mangematin, Vincent, 2014. "Subsidiary managers’ knowledge mobilizations: Unpacking emergent knowledge flows," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 431-443.
    10. Milanov, Hana & Fernhaber, Stephanie A., 2009. "The impact of early imprinting on the evolution of new venture networks," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 46-61, January.
    11. Skerlavaj, Miha & Su, Chunke & Huang, Meikuan, 2013. "The moderating effects of national culture on the development of organisational learning culture: A multilevel study across seven countries," Journal of East European Management Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 18(1), pages 97-134.
    12. Maria Adenfelt & Katarina Lagerström, 2008. "The development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams: A conceptual framework," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 319-338, May.
    13. Gay, Brigitte, 2008. "Firm dynamic governance of global innovation by means of flexible networks of connections," MPRA Paper 12525, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/9935 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/9935 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Wei-ping Wu & Alicia Leung, 2005. "Does a Micro-Macro Link Exist Between Managerial Value of Reciprocity, Social Capital and Firm Performance? The Case of SMEs in China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 445-463, December.
    17. Pak, Yong Suhk & Ra, Wonchan & Lee, Jong Min, 2015. "An integrated multi-stage model of knowledge management in international joint ventures: Identifying a trigger for knowledge exploration and knowledge harvest," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 180-191.
    18. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/7346 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Kavusan, K., 2015. "Essays on capability development through alliances," Other publications TiSEM 8eb736a5-b217-4718-ac13-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    20. Annalisa Caloffi & Federica Rossi & Margherita Russo, 2017. "A tale of persistent network additionality, with evidence from a regional policy," Working Papers 38, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised May 2017.
    21. Fassio, Claudio & Geuna, Aldo & Rossi, Federica, 2019. "International knowledge flows between industry inventors and universities: The role of multinational companies," Papers in Innovation Studies 2019/13, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    22. Tzu-Hsin Liu & Yung-Chang Hsiao, 2019. "Fitting cooperative mode in inter-organizational strategic alliance: a perspective from innovative and financial performances," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 73-96, February.
    23. Ye-Chan Park & Paul Hong, 2022. "Knowledge Sharing Practices for Corporate Sustainability: An Empirical Investigation of Sharing Economy Firms in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:38:y:2018:i:1:p:167-174. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-information-management .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.