ABSTRACT
Organizational knowledge is context-specific information that enables members to interpret, make decisions, and act (Droege & Hoobler, 2003). In an information-based economy and society, organizational knowledge is a competitive resource essential for organizational success (Huang & Kuo, 2003; King & Zeithaml, 2003; Starbuck, 1992). Knowledge held by organizational members gives the organization capacity to differentiate itself from competitors and to quickly respond to changes in the environment (Erden, von Krogh, & Nonaka, 2008; Leonard-Barton, 1992). Organizational knowledge is not easily created or distributed, in part, because it is reflected in individuals’ perspectives as they acquire meanings through exposure to an organizational context (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Tagliaventi & Mattarelli, 2006) and develop an understanding of what life is like in connection with the organization. This aspect of organizational knowledge makes it nearly impossible to attain it entirely through secondary sources. In fact, one cannot adequately investigate organizational knowledge without an immersion in the environment, developing an understanding of its context, development, and use (Spender, 1996). Morrison’s (2002, p. 1150) definition of organizational knowledge, “knowing about one’s larger organizational context,” is premised on this notion. This suggests that organizational knowledge includes information and knowledge possessed by an organization that some or all members share (Iverson & McPhee, 2008), and often is found in rules (March, Schulz, & Zhu, 2000), routines (Levitt & March, 1988), and standard operating procedures (Cyert & March, 1963). These properties have important implications for newcomer training and familiarization as new members are socialized. Organizational socialization is the process by which newcomers are introduced to the task and social elements of an organization (Chao, O’LearyKelly, Wolf, Klein, & Gardner, 1994; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). Organizations socialize members to the “way things are done around here,” with the dual purpose of easing coordination of activities between new and existing workers, and shaping newcomers into loyal members (Scott & Myers, 2005; Van Mannen & Schein, 1979). Socialization involves
instructing newcomers how to perform necessary job duties (Feldman, 1976), but becoming an organizational insider also involves acquiring organizational knowledge: becoming acquainted with others and learning about individuals associated with the work, the organization, and the local unit (Ashforth, Saks, & Lee, 1988; Gibson & Papa, 2000; Gundry & Rousseau, 1994; Klein, Bigley, & Roberts, 1995; Louis, 1980). A significant objective is to provide organizational knowledge that familiarizes recruits with the traditions of the organization, systems, policies, norms, standard operating procedures, and information such as how work really gets done in the social environment. Socialization is intended to share both task and cultural knowledge with recruits, but when individuals attempt to share knowledge with newcomers, they transmit data with some measure of resonance based on shared understandings, and individuals process information in varying ways due to differences in experience (Boisot, 2001). Thus, acquiring functional organizational knowledge requires familiarity with the context – something newcomers lack. These competing elements make transmitting knowledge to new organizational members fraught with problems. (See Chapter 14 in this volume for other difficulties associated with knowledge distribution.) Until recruits develop minimal contextual understanding, they cannot effectively absorb and internalize much of the information that is shared during formal training, which, ironically, often occurs during the first few days of membership. This chapter discusses issues related to organizational knowledge from an organizational socialization perspective, especially the types of knowledge that members must acquire to assimilate into roles, and the difficulties in distributing the knowledge through commonly used socialization strategies. Many organizations attempt to socialize newcomers through formal orientation classes. While formal socialization can successfully distribute some types of knowledge, I propose that the most effective means of distributing certain types of knowledge is informal socialization provided in workgroups. Group coordination and interaction gives newcomers an informed perspective, and exposure to experienced members whose behaviors can be observed and mimicked. This may be particularly important in highly interdependent workgroups. Previous research has examined how organizational knowledge is distributed (Choo, 1998; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995), but research has not related these findings to the socialization of newcomers. I begin with a general description of the nature of knowledge relative to organizational socialization, and follow with challenges newcomers face in acquiring organizational knowledge. Next, I discuss the limitations associated with formal socialization for transmitting organizational knowledge when newcomers have little knowledge of the new environment. Informal socialization in the form of workgroup interaction is then offered as the most effective means of sharing crucial contextual and occupational
“know-how.” In the second section of the chapter, I recount research demonstrating the effectiveness of group socialization for transmitting organizational knowledge. The contexts of those studies are high reliability organizations, specifically municipal fire departments, with firefighting crews the focus. In the last section, I offer implications and questions for future research.
