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Based on the social dominance theory, this study aims to theorize the moderating effect of power disparity in the impact of team knowledge variety on team creativity and further to verify team open communication as the mediating mechanism of the aforementioned interactive effect.

The multisource (team members and their team leaders) and longitudinal (separated by four months) survey data were collected from 67 research and development teams in China to test the research model. The authors used multiple regression analyses to validate all the proposed hypotheses.

Results reveal that team knowledge variety has a more positive impact on team creativity when teams have lower power disparity. Besides, team open communication is significantly and positively related to team creativity and mediates the interactive effect of team knowledge variety and team power disparity on team creativity.

This study reconciles the mixed findings in the previous study and provides new insights regarding the functionality of team knowledge variety. By identifying team power disparity as a moderator in shaping the effects of team knowledge variety, the authors extend the research that explores the moderators of the team knowledge variety–team creativity relationship, and make comprehensive consideration of the coexistence of multiple diversities within teams (i.e. knowledge variety and power disparity) and their joint effects on team creativity. Besides, this research identifies team open communication as an important underlying mechanism in transmitting the interactive effects of two different types of diversities on team creativity, thus offering new insights on how teams can perform creatively.

The purpose of this study is to test a contingency model in which the relationship between task conflict and team performance depends on the extent to which team members differ in their levels of expertise and functional backgrounds.

Data were obtained from 71 student teams that completed a semester-long entrepreneurial project.

The results support the moderating role of expertise disparity in the process through which task conflict contributes to team performance. Task conflict had a curvilinear effect (inverted-U) on team performance in teams with high expertise disparity. In contrast, in teams with low expertise disparity, the relationship between task conflict and team performance was found to be linear and positive. The moderating role of functional background diversity was not supported.

This paper shows that the relationship between task conflict and team performance can exist in both a linear and a curvilinear fashion, and that what determines the form of the relationship has to do with a team’s diversity characteristics. The focus of future conflict research should be whether and how teams can realize the possible beneficial effects of task conflict, not whether task conflict is simply good or bad.

Managers may deliberately consider the differences in expertness among members when creating teams or assigning members to a team. Further, they may want to avoid extensive task conflict when a team’s expertise levels are unevenly distributed to lessen expected performance loss.

This study’s examination of the roles of two moderators in catalyzing the processes through which potential effects of task conflict are realized enhances the understanding of equivocal results in conflict research. The empirical evidence that this study provides informs a long-standing debate in the conflict literature – whether task conflict is functional or dysfunctional for teams – in a new, insightful way.

Despite the recognized importance of transactive memory systems (TMS) for firm performance, this relationship remains misconstrued for entrepreneurial firms. Some researchers argue that entrepreneurial firms benefit from effective knowledge management systems, whereas others contend that such systems may prove expensive for resource-scarce entrepreneurial firms. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to explore this relationship in the context of Indian entrepreneurial firms. Furthermore, the authors argue that relationship conflict among organizational members impacts the TMS–performance link for entrepreneurial firms.

Data were collected from 127 entrepreneurial hotels in the Uttarakhand state of India and analyzed using multiple linear regression.

The findings of this study establish a positive relationship between TMS and firm performance for entrepreneurial firms. Also, it is found that TMS becomes more nuanced and beneficial in the presence of relationship conflict between organizational sub-units and is a unique finding that can be potentially helpful to entrepreneurs bestowed with the task of knowledge management in their organizations.

This study offers at least two insights to entrepreneurs. First, establishing TMS – i.e. managing knowledge in such a way that specialization units are created, credibility is established among the knowledge units, and there is scope for sufficient communication – leads to enhanced performance in entrepreneurial organizations. Second, as the level of relationship conflict within the entrepreneurial firm increases, it becomes all the more crucial to emphasize TMS.

Although researchers in the literature of knowledge management have emphasized a lot on its performance outcomes, relatively little research effort has been placed on understanding this link for entrepreneurial firms. The current study filled this void in the literature and offered crucial implications for entrepreneurial firms operating in dynamic environments such as hotels. Additionally, the data collected from a relatively unexplored context of Indian hospitality industry offer a valuable addition to the entrepreneurship literature.

This study aims to examine how changes in power disparity shape in-groups and upper-level management conflict are associated with intragroup relationship and task conflict variations. It also examines how workplace conflicts relate to focal employees’ perceptions of coworker support.

Data were collected from 3,343 respondents for nine years, comprising measurements taken on six occasions in 47 departments and stores of a Canadian retailer. The relationships between, within and across levels were tested using multilevel structural equation modeling.

The results showed that higher levels of power concentration vested by a few members or a single person are associated wih higher levels of intragroup conflict than usual. Furthermore, higher levels of task and relationship conflicts at upper management levels are associated with higher-than-usual task and relationship conflicts between nonhierarchical employees. Additionally, a higher-than-usual intragroup task conflict level was associated with lower-than-usual coworker support, supporting the proposed multilevel dynamic model.

An important limitation of this study is that all variables are self-reported despite using the six-wave repeated measurements, thereby increasing the possibility of inflating some observed relationships. Future research should examine the emergence of a larger spectrum of power dispersion configurations and their role on process conflict.

Retail managers should legitimize why a high-power concentration occurs when the equal distribution of power is not possible and find ways to minimize the trickle-down effects of conflicts at upper levels on their subordinates.

This study examines the effect of variability on power configurations and conflict in upper management ranks on conflict dynamic. The findings show that a high-power concentration elicits increasing conflicts, and that there is no empirical evidence that intragroup conflict is associated with positive outcomes.

Facing the global public health emergency (GPHE), the conflict of cultural differences and the imbalance of vital resources such as knowledge among different organizations are becoming more severe, which affects the enthusiasm and sustainability of firms' innovation heavily. It is an urgent problem to be solved for firms how to make use of internal knowledge and external power to help firms' sustainable innovation (FSI). Thus, the purpose of this study is to deeply analyze how firms' internal knowledge diversity (KD) and external ego-network structures [ego-network density (ED) and honest brokers (HB)] affect FSI, as well as how the ego-network structures (ED and HB) moderate the relationship between KD and FSI based on the perspective of the ego network.

Based on the data of the alliance innovation networks of China's new energy industries in 2009–2019, this study uses the social network analysis method and negative binomial regression model to explore the effect of KD and ego-network structures (ED and HB) on FSI, as well as the moderating effects of ego-network structures (ED and HB) on the relationship between KD and FSI based on the perspective of ego network.

This study finds that KD, ED and HB can boost FSI. Moreover, ED plays a negative moderating role in the relationship between KD and FSI. However, the negative moderating effect of HB on the relationship between KD and FSI is not significant.

This study presents fresh empirical evidence and new insights for firms on how to make full use of firms' internal KD and external ego-network structures to facilitate FSI.

First, this study not only enriches the research on the consequences of KD but also expands our understanding of the knowledge-based view to some extent. Second, this study not only enriches the motivation research of the FSI based on the perspective of ego-network in the context of the GPHE but also expands the application scope of social network theory and sustainable innovation' theory in part. Third, this paper is a new attempt to apply social network theory and knowledge-based view at the same time.

Innovation for service contributes to service quality and customer satisfaction, and further benefits service-centered organizations to sustain competitive advantages. However, concurrent mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying innovation for service at both the group and individual levels have been scarcely investigated. The purpose of this study is to explore multilevel mediating and moderating mechanisms behind the relationship between dual-level transformational leadership (TFL) and innovation for service at the group and individual levels.

Data were collected from two countries (i.e. China and Australia). Multilevel structural equation modeling was employed to validate the research model. Bootstrapping with 5,000 replications and latent moderated structural equation modeling were used to respectively examine the mediating and moderating mechanisms.

The cross-national results showed that task interdependence and creative role identity respectively played as the group-level and individual-level mediating roles between TFL and innovation for service. It was also found that task interdependence played as a cross-level predictor enhancing individual innovation for service. Task interdependence was a moderator on the relationship between individual-level TFL and creative role identity among Australian employees, but not among Chinese employees. The relationship between creative role identity and individual innovation for service was not moderated by task interdependence among both Chinese and Australian employees.

This study contributes to advancing the TFL–innovation research through revealing dual-level TFL as the antecedent of innovation for service at both the group and individual levels. It also extends the understandings of the mediating and moderating mechanisms behind this dual-level relationship between TFL and innovation for service.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how changes in a set of structural design variables (i.e. liaison position, networked design, innovation teams and work teams) affect the creation of new knowledge within organizations. The enablers intention, autonomy, fluctuation and creative chaos, redundancy, variety, and trust and commitment, taken from Nonaka's framework, are used as intermediate variables.

A sample of 167 large Spanish companies was used to empirically test a general relational model.

The analysis yielded two main conclusions. First, the relationship between structural variables and enablers, and, second, the relationship of enablers with knowledge creation emerged as highly relevant for knowledge creation in organizations.

A major limitation of this study was the relatively small number of variables used to define organizational structure. In reality, a large number of variables combine to create organizational structure, yet this study only included four: liaison position, networked design, innovation teams and work teams. A further limitation is the importance of the organizational context itself, which was not addressed in this study.

This research has yielded findings that can help firms to understand and appreciate the changes that may occur in certain organizational design variables that affect knowledge creation. Equally, this research shows that knowledge creation has the potential to act as a catalyst for innovation, and may consequently drive change within the firm.

Despite a long tradition of research into organizations and the ways in which these entities create knowledge, the literature requires enhancing through the publication of articles that provide a deeper knowledge of the context and tools that aid knowledge creation. The novel approach adopted in the current study verified whether certain variables related to organization design (i.e. liaison positions, networked design, innovation teams and work teams) exert a relevant influence on knowledge creation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the conditions under which a co-design team comprised of in-house professionals and leading-edge service users can generate innovative service design concepts.

The investigation used a field-experimental design to conduct two studies. Observations and open-ended questionnaires were used to examine cross-comparison matrices with experts rating the generated outcomes and t-tests being used to compare the outcome ratings between teams of different compositions.

The outcomes produced by a co-design team seem to be linked to the team diversity – process facilitation relationship. Bringing a variety of knowledge and skills into the team can lead to original outcomes, while a high disparity between members’ backgrounds can require extensive efforts to facilitate a collaborative process. Separation between users’ objectives can result in a user-driven process and outcomes that are too specific for the broader marketplace. Co-design teams that characterize minimum separation, maximum variety, and moderate disparity are likely to produce the most promising results.

The research was restricted to a narrowly defined study setting and samples. Future research should replicate the current study in other service contexts using different team compositions.

Co-design requires the careful selection of users based on their background and motivations, as well as the facilitation of a process that enables the team to collaboratively transform relevant knowledge into innovative outcomes.

The research contributes to a better understanding of the team composition – process facilitation relationship affecting innovation outcomes. Doing so provides a more fine-grained picture of the co-design team composition and the facilitation requirements for service design.

Utilising data from 18 in‐depth case studies, this study seeks to explore training, development and human resource development (HRD) practices in European call centres. It aims to argue that the complexity and diversity of training, development and HRD practices is best understood by studying the multilayered contexts within which call centres operate. Call centres operate as open systems and training, development and HRD practices are influenced by environmental, strategic, organisational and temporal conditions.

The study utilised a range of research methods, including in‐depth interviews with multiple stakeholders, documentary analysis and observation. The study was conducted over a two‐year period.

The results indicate that normative models of HRD are not particularly valuable and that training, development and HRD in call centres is emergent and highly complex.

This study represents one of the first studies to investigate training and development and HRD practices and systems in European call centres.

The purpose of this paper is to examine employees’ knowledge creation processes by leveraging a conceptual framework based on the socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation (SECI) model introduced by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). Given that many employees work within teams, in the current study, the authors examine the impact that team-level trust and intrinsic motivation have on an employee’s SECI model and, in turn, the relationship between SECI model and individual creativity. As such, this work represents one of the first works to examine team-level factors that shape individual knowledge creation and creativity. Additionally, building on and extending previous SECI research, the authors develop a scale to measure SECI models that uses peer-rated assessments.

Data were collected from 431 employees who worked in 59 teams drawn from 51 companies in a variety of industry sectors, both SME’s and corporate. To minimise common method bias, the SECI model questionnaire was adapted to the individual level through peer ratings instead of self-ratings (each employee rated three peers). To assess the hypotheses, hierarchical linear models using IBM SPSS were applied. The questionnaires were completed using both paper and online versions.

Results showed that SECI mediates the relationships between individual-level creativity and both team-level intrinsic motivation and trust. Furthermore, findings suggest that the scale developed is a reliable measure of SECI.

Knowledge creation and sharing practices should take into account both, a team’s trust and its intrinsic motivation, which would result in creativity.

This paper examines the impact that team-level factors (i.e. team trust and team intrinsic motivation) have on individual SECI and creativity across a variety of industries. As such, this work is one of the first to examine the impact of team-level factors in shaping individual knowledge creation and creativity. Given the support that the study found for this hypothesis, this work demonstrates that team trust and intrinsic motivation are salient factors in shaping individual employee knowledge creation and creativity. Given the novelty of this work, the authors hope is that this study will be the foundation upon future cross-level studies of individual-level SECI and individual creativity can be built so as to improve SECI models.