The Relationship between Informal Knowledge Sharing Network and Individual Learning in Organizations: Does the Structuring of Activities Matter?

Abstract

Capitalizing on organizational network theory, we address the
relationship between informal-knowledge-sharing-network
characteristics (in-degree and out-degree centrality) and the level
of internal and external learning. Specifically, the paper examines
differences in the use of various relationships when employees
are learning internally or externally and explores the moderating
role of the perceived organic structuring of activities. The results
show the employees resort to informal-knowledge-generating
relationships (informal in-degree) to obtain knowledge internally,
whereas, when learning externally, employees rely on informal-
-knowledge-sharing relationships (informal out-degree) to
disseminate the knowledge they obtain from outside the
organization. The anticipated moderating role of the organic
structuring of activities is not confirmed, holding important
implications for both theory and practice.