The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups

In today’s economy, the role and value of knowledge as the last competitive advantage has been suggested and the Knowledge Management (KM) concept has emerged and received great attention. A big part in KM is about managing the way knowledge flows in and between organizations i.e., managing Knowledg...

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Main Author:	Ziaei, Seyyedali
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2010
Subjects:	H Social Sciences (General)
Online Access:	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/31269/1/SeyyedaliZiaeiMFPPSM2010.pdf
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id	my-utm-ep.31269
record_format	uketd_dc
spelling	my-utm-ep.312692018-05-30T04:27:22Z The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups 2010-03 Ziaei, Seyyedali H Social Sciences (General) In today’s economy, the role and value of knowledge as the last competitive advantage has been suggested and the Knowledge Management (KM) concept has emerged and received great attention. A big part in KM is about managing the way knowledge flows in and between organizations i.e., managing Knowledge Sharing (KS). While technology admittedly facilitates KS, the success of KM efforts still depends highly on considering human factors. This research proposes that one of these human factors, ethno/lingo diversity, can significantly affect the success of KM practices; in particular knowledge sharing by influencing communication and social interaction among the members of a group. To test this proposition, a semiquantitative approach was taken. Homogeneous and heterogeneous groups were formed and asked to do a group task that needed discussion and knowledge sharing. By comparing the results in groups based on how diverse they are or simply based on their being homo- or heterogeneous, the hypothesis is tested. Furthermore, as the literature on diversity suggests, conflict is likely to be present and have a role in the diverse group processes. Hence, intragroup conflict is also gauged by means of a questionnaire. Groups were composed of voluntary students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The results show a significant and strong correlation between group diversity and knowledge sharing at group-level, but fail to show any significant relationship at the individual-level, or on conflict. The results imply the effect of social categorization on the willingness of individuals in groups to share knowledge. This way, one can assume positive influence of group homogeneity on knowledge sharing at least over the short term and conversely barriers to KS in the diverse groups. This fact may be borne in minds of managers when setting up groups depending heavily on KS, especially short-term groups and planning them more homogeneous. In long-term groups the effect can be reduced by diversity training or making use of reductive capabilities of information technologies. 2010-03 Thesis http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/31269/ http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/31269/1/SeyyedaliZiaeiMFPPSM2010.pdf application/pdf en public masters Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Management and Human Resource Development Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
collection	UTM Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	H Social Sciences (General)
spellingShingle	H Social Sciences (General) Ziaei, Seyyedali The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups
description	In today’s economy, the role and value of knowledge as the last competitive advantage has been suggested and the Knowledge Management (KM) concept has emerged and received great attention. A big part in KM is about managing the way knowledge flows in and between organizations i.e., managing Knowledge Sharing (KS). While technology admittedly facilitates KS, the success of KM efforts still depends highly on considering human factors. This research proposes that one of these human factors, ethno/lingo diversity, can significantly affect the success of KM practices; in particular knowledge sharing by influencing communication and social interaction among the members of a group. To test this proposition, a semiquantitative approach was taken. Homogeneous and heterogeneous groups were formed and asked to do a group task that needed discussion and knowledge sharing. By comparing the results in groups based on how diverse they are or simply based on their being homo- or heterogeneous, the hypothesis is tested. Furthermore, as the literature on diversity suggests, conflict is likely to be present and have a role in the diverse group processes. Hence, intragroup conflict is also gauged by means of a questionnaire. Groups were composed of voluntary students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The results show a significant and strong correlation between group diversity and knowledge sharing at group-level, but fail to show any significant relationship at the individual-level, or on conflict. The results imply the effect of social categorization on the willingness of individuals in groups to share knowledge. This way, one can assume positive influence of group homogeneity on knowledge sharing at least over the short term and conversely barriers to KS in the diverse groups. This fact may be borne in minds of managers when setting up groups depending heavily on KS, especially short-term groups and planning them more homogeneous. In long-term groups the effect can be reduced by diversity training or making use of reductive capabilities of information technologies.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Master's degree
author	Ziaei, Seyyedali
author_facet	Ziaei, Seyyedali
author_sort	Ziaei, Seyyedali
title	The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups
title_short	The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups
title_full	The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups
title_fullStr	The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups
title_full_unstemmed	The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups
title_sort	effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups
granting_institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Management and Human Resource Development
granting_department	Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
publishDate	2010
url	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/31269/1/SeyyedaliZiaeiMFPPSM2010.pdf
_version_	1747815762919161856

The effect of ethno/lingo diversity on knowledge sharing effectiveness and conflict in groups

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