Incremental Experts: How Much Knowledge Does a Team Need?

Experts are often viewed as individuals with a vast storehouse of knowledge beyond the normal participants in a domain. In reality, the expert may have just enough additional knowledge beyond those they interface with to propel their team to success. This research explores the interplay between the accumulation of knowledge as facilitated by individual and team network structures and prior skill sets necessary to successfully participate in a business simulation emulating the cash-to-cash cycle of a manufacturing company. Students participate in simulated organizations that compete against one another in an introductory and extended setting, the latter being the more complex market environment. Comparisons within and between teams across simulations indicate that minor background differences in specific participant ability and associated network structures can make significant differences in simulation standings.