IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v114y2017icp103-118.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social network analysis: A tool for evaluating and predicting future knowledge flows from an insurance organization

Author

Listed:
  • Leon, Ramona – Diana
  • Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Raúl
  • Gómez-Gasquet, Pedro
  • Mula, Josefa

Abstract

The paper aims to identify the individuals who influence the knowledge sharing processes from an internal social network and to forecast the future knowledge flows that may cross it. Exploratory research is employed, and a four-phase methodology is developed which combines a social network analysis with structural modeling. This is applied to the internal enterprise social network used by a British insurance company. The main results emphasize the most influential groups, their relationships, future knowledge flows, and the connection between the network's heterogeneity and structure, and employees' future knowledge sharing intention. These findings have both theoretical and practical implications. The theory is extended by proving that a social network analysis can be used as a tool for evaluating and predicting future knowledge flows. At the same time, a solution is offered to decision-makers so they will be able to: (i) identify the potential knowledge loss; (ii) determine leaders; (iii) establish who is going to act as a knowledge diffuser, by sharing what they know with their coworkers, and who is going to act as a knowledge repository, by focusing on acquiring increasingly more knowledge; (iv) identify the elements that influence employees' future knowledge sharing intention.

Suggested Citation

  • Leon, Ramona – Diana & Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Raúl & Gómez-Gasquet, Pedro & Mula, Josefa, 2017. "Social network analysis: A tool for evaluating and predicting future knowledge flows from an insurance organization," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 103-118.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:114:y:2017:i:c:p:103-118
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.07.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162516301895
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.07.032?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lynn Wu, 2013. "Social Network Effects on Productivity and Job Security: Evidence from the Adoption of a Social Networking Tool," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 30-51, March.
    2. Paul Leroy & Capucine Defert & Amaury Hocquet & Frank Goethals & Johan Maes, 2013. "Antecedents of Willingness to Share Information on Enterprise Social Networks," Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organization, in: Paolo Spagnoletti (ed.), Organizational Change and Information Systems, edition 127, pages 109-117, Springer.
    3. Lianxi Zhou & Wei-ping Wu & Xueming Luo, 2007. "Internationalization and the performance of born-global SMEs: the mediating role of social networks," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 673-690, July.
    4. Yin, Fa-Shing & Liu, Min-Ling & Lin, Chieh-Peng, 2015. "Forecasting the continuance intention of social networking sites: Assessing privacy risk and usefulness of technology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 267-272.
    5. Ikujiro Nonaka & Georg von Krogh, 2009. "Perspective---Tacit Knowledge and Knowledge Conversion: Controversy and Advancement in Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 635-652, June.
    6. Norazah Mohd Suki & T. Ramayah & Michelle Kow Pei Ming & Norbayah Mohd Suki, 2011. "Factors Enhancing Employed Job Seekers Intentions to Use Social Networking Sites as a Job Search Tool," International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction (IJTHI), IGI Global, vol. 7(2), pages 38-54, April.
    7. Ray E. Reagans & Ezra W. Zuckerman, 2008. "Why knowledge does not equal power: the network redundancy trade-off," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 17(5), pages 903-944, October.
    8. Stefan Wuchty & Brian Uzzi, 2011. "Human Communication Dynamics in Digital Footsteps: A Study of the Agreement between Self-Reported Ties and Email Networks," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-8, November.
    9. Ming-Tien Tsai & Hsiu-Ching Chang & Nai-Chang Cheng & Chung-Chang Lien, 2013. "Understanding IT professionals’ knowledge sharing intention through KMS: a social exchange perspective," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(5), pages 2739-2753, August.
    10. Fernandes, Silvia & Belo, Ana & Castela, Guilherme, 2016. "Social network enterprise behaviors and patterns in SMEs: Lessons from a Portuguese local community centered around the tourism industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 15-22.
    11. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    12. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    13. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Bryson, John R., 2011. "Openness, knowledge, innovation and growth in UK business services," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1438-1452.
    14. Davide Nicolini, 2011. "Practice as the Site of Knowing: Insights from the Field of Telemedicine," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 602-620, June.
    15. David L. Olson & Desheng Dash Wu, 2007. "Information Systems Perspective," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Enterprise Risk Management, chapter 5, pages 67-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    16. Lakhani, Karim R. & von Hippel, Eric, 2003. "How open source software works: "free" user-to-user assistance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 923-943, June.
    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. Osei-Frimpong, Kofi & McLean, Graeme, 2018. "Examining online social brand engagement: A social presence theory perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 10-21.
    2. Duan, Yunlong & Yang, Meng & Huang, Lei & Chin, Tachia & Fiano, Fabio & de Nuccio, Elbano & Zhou, Li, 2022. "Unveiling the impacts of explicit vs. tacit knowledge hiding on innovation quality: The moderating role of knowledge flow within a firm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1489-1500.
    3. Kaklauskas, A. & Zavadskas, E.K. & Banaitis, A. & Meidute-Kavaliauskiene, I. & Liberman, A. & Dzitac, S. & Ubarte, I. & Binkyte, A. & Cerkauskas, J. & Kuzminske, A. & Naumcik, A., 2018. "A neuro-advertising property video recommendation system," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 78-93.
    4. SHI, Jia & LEE, Ching-Hung & GUO, Xuesong & ZHU, Zhengwei, 2020. "Constructing an integrated stakeholder-based participatory policy evaluation model for urban traffic restriction," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    5. Iovanella, Antonio, 2024. "Exploiting network science in business process management: A conceptual framework," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).

    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. Adrián Kovács & Bart Looy & Bruno Cassiman, 2015. "Exploring the scope of open innovation: a bibliometric review of a decade of research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(3), pages 951-983, September.
    2. Cheng, Ru & Tao, Lei & Wang, Qiang & Zhao, Xiande, 2023. "The impact of value co-creation orientation on radical service innovation: Exploring a serial mediation mechanism," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    3. Matthijs Janssen & Carolina Castaldi & Alexander Alexiev, 2014. "Dynamic capabilities for service innovation: conceptualization and measurement," Working Papers 14-07, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies, revised Mar 2014.
    4. Abel Duarte Alonso & Seng K. Kok & Seamus O'Brien, 2019. "Understanding Approaches To Innovation Through The Dynamic Capabilities Lens: A Multi-Country Study Of The Wine Industry," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(06), pages 1-30, August.
    5. Ko, Young Jin & O'Neill, Hugh & Xie, Xuanli, 2021. "Strategic intent as a contingency of the relationship between external knowledge and firm innovation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    6. Khan, Zaheer & Lew, Yong Kyu, 2018. "Post-entry survival of developing economy international new ventures: A dynamic capability perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 149-160.
    7. Ahsan, Mujtaba & Fernhaber, Stephanie A., 2019. "Multinational Enterprises: Leveraging a Corporate International Entrepreneurship Lens for New Insights Into Subsidiary Initiatives," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 51-65.
    8. Robertson, Jeandri & Caruana, Albert & Ferreira, Caitlin, 2023. "Innovation performance: The effect of knowledge-based dynamic capabilities in cross-country innovation ecosystems," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    9. Man Zhang & Patriya Tansuhaj & James McCullough, 2009. "International entrepreneurial capability: The measurement and a comparison between born global firms and traditional exporters in China," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 292-322, December.
    10. Hasan Boztoprak & Mehmet Eryilmaz, 2021. "The strategy tripod perspective in explaining firms’ export performance," Upravlenets, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 12(5), pages 50-69, November.
    11. Bai, Wensong & Holmström-Lind, Christine & Johanson, Martin, 2018. "Leveraging networks, capabilities and opportunities for international success: A study on returnee entrepreneurial ventures," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 51-62.
    12. Manish Popli & Ashutosh Sinha, 2014. "Determinants of early movers in cross-border merger and acquisition wave in an emerging market: A study of Indian firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 1075-1099, December.
    13. Uzhegova, Maria & Torkkeli, Lasse & Saarenketo, Sami, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs: Implications on Competitive PerformanceDate submitted: October 12, 2017Revised version accepted after double blind review: December 15, 2018," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 30(2-3), pages 232-267.
    14. Stoian, Maria-Cristina & Tardios, Janja Annabel & Samdanis, Marios, 2024. "The knowledge-based view in international business: A systematic review of the literature and future research directions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    15. Gordian Rättich & Kim Clark & Evi Hartmann, 2011. "Performance measurement and antecedents of early internationalizing firms: A systematic assessment," Working Papers 0031, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    16. Abel Duarte Alonso & Seng Kok & Michelle O’Shea, 2018. "Family Businesses and Adaptation: A Dynamic Capabilities Approach," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 683-698, December.
    17. Jugend, Daniel & Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappeta & Alves Scaliza, Janaina A. & Rocha, Robson Sø & Junior, José Alcides Gobbo & Latan, Hengky & Salgado, Manoel Henrique, 2018. "Relationships among open innovation, innovative performance, government support and firm size: Comparing Brazilian firms embracing different levels of radicalism in innovation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 74, pages 54-65.
    18. Zhang, Xiaoxing & Gao, Changyuan & Zhang, Shuchen, 2022. "The niche evolution of cross-boundary innovation for Chinese SMEs in the context of digital transformation——Case study based on dynamic capability," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    19. Tobias Knabke & Sebastian Olbrich, 2018. "Building novel capabilities to enable business intelligence agility: results from a quantitative study," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 493-546, August.
    20. FeCheng Ma & Farhan Khan & Kashif Ullah Khan & Si XiangYun, 2021. "Investigating the Impact of Information Technology, Absorptive Capacity, and Dynamic Capabilities on Firm Performance: An Empirical Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.

    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:tefoso:v:114:y:2017:i:c:p:103-118. 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: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    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.