Article Summary and Review by KMx6 for Class 10 – KM & Social Capital

Title: Boundaryless careers, social capital, and knowledge management: Implications for organizational performance
Author: Mila Lazarova and Sully Taylor

SUMMARY
Boundaryless careers can have a positive and negative impact on organizational effectiveness through the mechanism of social capital. To better understand the potential impact boundaryless careers are divided into four different types; internal psychological, internal enacted, external psychological, external enacted.

The difference between the two internal and two external careers types is larger than the differences between the two internal and external career types.

Internal boundaryless careers increase social capital, with internal enacted boundaryless careers increasing organizational social capital more than internal psychological boundaryless careers do. External boundaryless careers decrease social capital, with external enacted boundaryless careers decreasing organizational social capital more than external psychological boundaryless careers do.

Organizations can promote a particular or combination of boundaryless career types depending on the knowledge type an organization is seeking to promote at the current time. Exploitative knowledge needs higher level of organizational social capital making internal boundaryless careers more desirable. Exploratory knowledge may find external enacted boundaryless careers desirable if used to a limited degree but external psychological boundaryless careers detrimental.

REVIEW
The article provides detailed explanations ensuring that the reader understands the key concepts. Propositions are clearly defined and well supported and referenced. This is not just another theoretical framework with no practical implications but offers some valuable insight into how boundaryless careers impacts on an organization.

(Posted for Bee)

Article Summary and Review by KMx6 for Class 10 – KM & Social Capital

Title: Tacit Knowledge and Social Capital: Supporting Sociability in Online Communities of Practice
Author: Jennifer Preece

SUMMARY
A community of practice (COP) focuses on a domain of knowledge and is a group of people who come together to learn from each other by sharing knowledge and experiences and solving problems. These actions themselves build the trust and empathy that form the social capital that makes COPs successful. COPs not only supports explicit knowledge transfers but also supports tacit knowledge transfers. Storytelling, anecdotes, impromptu comments and opinions occur naturally in many COPs and combined with the less formal setting promotes tacit knowledge transfers.

Explicit knowledge generates new explicit knowledge by a process of combination and tacit knowledge by a process of internalization. Tacit knowledge generates new tacit knowledge by a process of socialization and explicit knowledge by a process of externalization.

COPS are built on knowledge, empathy and trust where people come together to form a community where interactions is initially guided by policies but overtime replaced by behaviour norms. COPs members’ individual goals become a shared goal.

REVIEW
The article struggles to convey the key message and does not clearly explain some of the concepts. Despite these factors the article touches in an interesting and current topic that greatly influences social capital in today’s organization.

Posted for Bee