Kyosuke Tanaka: Communication Structures, Knowledge Distribution, and Meta-Knowledge Updating

Abstract
Transactive memory systems (TMSs), colloquially known as ‘knowledge of who knows what,’ have been identified as a source of competitive advantage for organizations. To serve as a source of continuing competitive advantage, TMSs must be non-replicable across organizations but also adaptable to changing tasks and environmental conditions. This study investigates how a TMS updates when tasks change. Focusing on meta-knowledge-knowledge about the links between domains of knowledge and locations of that knowledge in a team, we develop a computer simulation where agents complete multiple decision-making tasks, with new task knowledge given to the team in between tasks. We vary the agents’ team communication network (centralized vs. decentralized) and the nature of knowledge distribution (generalized vs. specialized) to examine the extent to which new knowledge is incorporated into the team’s transactive memory, which in turn impacts team performance. From the simulation results, we derive testable hypotheses and propose an experimental design. Finally, by conducting an online group experiment, we test the hypotheses.
About the speaker
Kyosuke Tanaka, postdoc, Department of Management, Aarhus University
IMC Tuesday Seminar held May 16th, 2023.
Note: Talk is trimmed to ensure anonymity of informants.