Keywords

Knowledge management; Knowledge transfer; Narratives, Information technology; Organizational capabilities; Emerging markets

Abstract

Timely and effective knowledge transfer is increasingly important in today’s technologically advanced global market. However, a myopic focus on efficiency has frequently rendered most organizational knowledge ineffective. By coupling technology with a formal system that captures informal stories in an engaging and entertaining way, actors within an organization may be more willing to listen to what geographically dispersed colleagues are doing, and may be more likely to ascribe value to that information. Focusing on the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, we conducted interviews with those sharing and using knowledge, and performed content analyses of 175 knowledge-sharing narratives. Our goal was to understand which aspects of narrative knowledge drive interest and value to users of that knowledge. We found that those seeking knowledge look to others in determining interest, but rely on the internal emotional content of the narrative in determining value. This finding suggests that the usefulness of knowledge is both socially and analytically constructed.

Original Publication Citation

Morris, S., Oldroyd, J., & Ramaswami, S. 2016. Scaling Up Your Story: An Experiment in Global Knowledge Sharing at the World Bank. Long Range Planning, 49(1): 1-14.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2016

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6489

Publisher

Long Range Planning

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Management

Department

Management

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

Download

Share

COinS