Transmission mechanism of simmelian ties on the knowledge spiral – the conducive combination of a high-performance work practice and knowledge fermentation
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 25 May 2021
Issue publication date: 20 September 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how different strengths of simmelian ties affect knowledge spirals and investigate which major factors affect the influence of simmelian ties on knowledge spirals.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data in this paper were collected through e-mail and interview questionnaires to R&D teams in high-tech manufacturing enterprises in China. The authors obtained 132 teams' valid responses. The interval decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (interval DEMATEL) method, differential evolution (DE) algorithm and Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM) were employed to test the theoretical framework developed for this paper.
Findings
The results show that strong simmelian ties have positive associations with high-performance work practices (HPWPs). Meanwhile, weak simmelian ties have positive associations with HPWPs. Furthermore, HPWPs and knowledge fermentation play a conducive role in the relationship between simmelian ties and knowledge spirals.
Originality/value
This paper contributes in three ways. First, it extends research on the relational antecedents of knowledge spirals. Second, this paper extends the study of social capital related to knowledge spirals. Third, this paper elucidates less familiar factors relating HPWPs to knowledge fermentation by testing the mediating role of HPWPs in knowledge fermentation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The manuscript has been posted on preprint: Kangxin, Liuqiang, Fengzhijun (2019): Transmission Mechanism of Simmelian Ties on Knowledge Spiral – Conduction Combination of High-Performance Work Practice System and Knowledge Fermenting. Sage Submissions, Preprint. https://doi.org/10.31124/advance.9246890.v1.
Funding: This paper is supported by the National Social Science Fund of China (No. 17CGL007) and the University Nursing Program for Young Scholars with Creative Talents in Heilongjiang Province of China (No. UNPYSCT-2018218). This article is also funded by 2019 science research fund of department of education of Liaoning Province (JQW201915402).
Author's contributions: Xin Kang: conceptualization, funding acquisition, software, resources, data curation, supervision, writing – review and editing; Danni Zhao: methodology, software, visualization, supervision, roles/writing – original draft; Qiang Liu: formal analysis, investigation, methodology, software, visualization, roles/writing – original draft.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Citation
Kang, X., Zhao, D. and Liu, Q. (2021), "Transmission mechanism of simmelian ties on the knowledge spiral – the conducive combination of a high-performance work practice and knowledge fermentation", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 1003-1017. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-10-2020-0312
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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