IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tin/wpaper/20010062.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Effects of Positions in Knowledge Networks on Trust

Author

Listed:
  • David J. Dekker

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Abstract

This paper empirically explores relations between network positions in knowledge networks andtrust. In social network theory the closure argument and the gossip argument describe thisrelation. These two arguments do not distinguish between different dimensions of trust. In thispaper we estimate effects of closure positions on two dimensions of trust (trust in abilities andtrust in intentions). The closure argument emphasizes that dense network structures enforceindividuals to be trustworthy. The gossip argument emphasizes that dense networks amplifiesgossip. Since it was found that different network positions are optimal for different tasks, wepropose that the content of a network is an intrinsic characteristic of a network that influenceswhether gossip is neutral or judgmental. To discern between different contents we consider twotask-specific knowledge networks. Empirical data were collected on a network of 55 individuals inthe setting of account management. These data strongly support the gossip argument for bothdimensions of trust. However, the data only gave weak and ambiguous support for the closureargument.

Suggested Citation

  • David J. Dekker, 2001. "Effects of Positions in Knowledge Networks on Trust," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-062/1, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20010062
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/01062.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gruenfeld, Deborah H & Martorana, Paul V. & Fan, Elliott T., 2000. "What Do Groups Learn from Their Worldliest Members? Direct and Indirect Influence in Dynamic Teams," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 45-59, May.
    2. Deborah Dougherty, 1992. "Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 179-202, May.
    3. Deborah Gladstein Ancona & David F. Caldwell, 1992. "Demography and Design: Predictors of New Product Team Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 321-341, August.
    4. Kate M. Andrews & Brian L. Delahaye, 2000. "Influences On Knowledge processes In Organizational Learning: The Psychosocial Filter," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(6), pages 797-810, September.
    5. Martin Gargiulo & Mario Benassi, 2000. "Trapped in Your Own Net? Network Cohesion, Structural Holes, and the Adaptation of Social Capital," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 183-196, April.
    6. 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.
    7. Ronald S. Burt & Marc Knez, 1995. "Kinds of Third-Party Effects on Trust," Rationality and Society, , vol. 7(3), pages 255-292, July.
    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. Henningsen, Geraldine & Henningsen, Arne & Henning, Christian H.C.A., 2011. "Measuring the Influence of Information Networks on Transaction Costs Using a Non-parametric Regression Technique," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114547, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Geraldine Henningsen & Arne Henningsen & Christian Henning, 2015. "Transaction costs and social networks in productivity measurement," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 493-515, February.

    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. Rizova, Polly S. & Gupta, Samir & Maltz, Elliot N. & Walker, Robert W., 2018. "Overcoming equivocality on projects in the fuzzy front end: Bringing social networks back in," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 40-55.
    2. A. Willem & M. Buelens, 2003. "Making Competencies Cross Business Unit Boundaries: The Interplay between Inter-Unit Coordination, Trust and Knowledge Transferability," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/176, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    3. Dekker, D.J. & Krackhardt, D. & Franses, Ph.H.B.F., 2002. "Dynamic Effects of Trust and Cognitive Social Structures on Information Transfer Relationships," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2002-33-MKT, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    4. Tammy L. Madsen & Elaine Mosakowski & Srilata Zaheer, 2003. "Knowledge Retention and Personnel Mobility: The Nondisruptive Effects of Inflows of Experience," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 173-191, April.
    5. Marco Tortoriello & Ray Reagans & Bill McEvily, 2012. "Bridging the Knowledge Gap: The Influence of Strong Ties, Network Cohesion, and Network Range on the Transfer of Knowledge Between Organizational Units," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 1024-1039, August.
    6. Ng, Desmond W., 2011. "Thinking Outside the Box: An Absorptive Capacity Approach to the Product Development Process," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 14(3), pages 1-28, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Kelman, Steven, 2006. "Organization Design and Frontline Service Improvement in Government: The Case of Performance Targets in the United Kingdom," Working Paper Series rwp06-016, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    9. Linda Argote & Sunkee Lee & Jisoo Park, 2021. "Organizational Learning Processes and Outcomes: Major Findings and Future Research Directions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5399-5429, September.
    10. Tsai, Kuen-Hung & Wang, Jiann-Chyuan, 2005. "Does R&D performance decline with firm size?--A re-examination in terms of elasticity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 966-976, August.
    11. Choi, Hoon-Seok & Thompson, Leigh, 2005. "Old wine in a new bottle: Impact of membership change on group creativity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 121-132, November.
    12. Sameer B. Srivastava, 2015. "Intraorganizational Network Dynamics in Times of Ambiguity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(5), pages 1365-1380, October.
    13. F. Pinar Acar, 2016. "The effects of top management team composition on SME export performance: an upper echelons perspective," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 24(4), pages 833-852, December.
    14. Bettina Büchel & Heidi Armbruster, 2006. "Erfolgsfaktoren von Innovationsteams: Der Einfluss der übereinstimmenden Wahrnehmung zwischen Teammitgliedern und unternehmensinternen Stakeholdern," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 506-524, June.
    15. Argote, Linda & Ingram, Paul & Levine, John M. & Moreland, Richard L., 2000. "Knowledge Transfer in Organizations: Learning from the Experience of Others," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 1-8, May.
    16. Guo, Jingjing & Guo, Bin & Zhou, Jianghua & Wu, Xiaobo, 2020. "How does the ambidexterity of technological learning routine affect firm innovation performance within industrial clusters? The moderating effects of knowledge attributes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    17. Manuel E. Sosa, 2011. "Where Do Creative Interactions Come From? The Role of Tie Content and Social Networks," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 1-21, February.
    18. Esther Tippmann & Pamela Sharkey Scott & Andrew Parker, 2017. "Boundary Capabilities in MNCs: Knowledge Transformation for Creative Solution Development," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 455-482, June.
    19. Donald Gerwin & Nicholas J. Barrowman, 2002. "An Evaluation of Research on Integrated Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(7), pages 938-953, July.
    20. Carroll, John S. & Rudolph, Jenny W. & Hatakenaka, Sachi, 2002. "Problem Investigation in High-Hazard Industries: Creating and Negotiational Learning," Working papers 4360-02, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.

    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:tin:wpaper:20010062. 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: Tinbergen Office +31 (0)10-4088900 (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tinbenl.html .

    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.