Value of strong ties to disconnected others Examining knowledge creation in biomedicine

Knowledge creation requires the combination and exchange of diverse and overlapping knowledge inputs as individuals interact with exchange partners to create new knowledge. In this study, we examine knowledge creation among university research scientists as a function of their professional (ego) net...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Organization science (Providence, R.I.) Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 552 - 564
Main Authors: McFadyen, M. Ann, Semadeni, Matthew, Cannella, Albert A
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Linthicum INFORMS 01.05.2009
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Subjects:
Academic profession
Attributes
Averages
Binomials
Biomedicine
Biotechnologie
Business networks (Social groups)
Business structures
Collaboration
Density
Ego
Emotions
exchange networks
Hochschulforschung
Information networks
Information workers
Knowledge
knowledge creation
Knowledge management
Management science
Medical research
Medizin
Networks
Netzwerk
Organization theory
Organizational effectiveness
Professional workers
Research papers
Research universities
Scientific research
Scientists
Self concept
Social capital
Social interaction
Social networks
Standard deviation
Studies
Tacit knowledge
United States
Universities
Universities and colleges
University research
United States
United States > US
ISSN:1047-7039, 1526-5455
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Knowledge creation requires the combination and exchange of diverse and overlapping knowledge inputs as individuals interact with exchange partners to create new knowledge. In this study, we examine knowledge creation among university research scientists as a function of their professional (ego) networks—those others with whom they collaborate for the purpose of creating new knowledge. We propose that knowledge creation relies, in part, on two attributes of a researcher's professional network structure—average tie strength and ego network density—and we provide insights into how these attributes jointly affect knowledge creation. Our study of over 7,300 scientific publications by 177 research scientists working with more than 14,000 others over an 11-year period provides evidence that the relationship between a research scientist's professional network and knowledge creation depends on both ego network density and average tie strength. Our evidence suggests that both attributes affect knowledge creation. Moreover, average tie strength interacts with density to affect knowledge creation such that researchers who maintain mostly strong ties with research collaborators who themselves comprise a sparse network have the highest levels of new knowledge creation.
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ISSN:1047-7039
1526-5455
DOI:10.1287/orsc.1080.0388