Knowledge transfer in virtual settings: the role of individual virtual competency
Authors: Wang, Yinglei; Haggerty, Nicole
Journal: Information Systems Journal (2009)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2575.2008.00318.x
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Economic forces, competitive pressures and technological advances have created an environment within which firms have developed new ways of organizing (e.g. virtual work settings) and managing their resources (e.g. knowledge management) in order to maintain and improve firm performance. Extant research has highlighted the challenges associated with managing knowledge in virtual settings. However, researchers are still struggling to provide effective guidance to practitioners in this field. We believe that a better understanding of individual virtual competency is a potential avenue for managing the complexity of knowledge transfer in virtual settings. In particular, we suggest that optimal knowledge transfers can be achieved by individuals armed with the right personal capabilities and skills for virtual work, particularly when those knowledge transfers are emergent, bottom‐up and cannot be specified a priori. The virtual competency exhibited by individuals can be the key to overcoming the constraints of knowledge transfers with such characteristics because underlying competency can facilitate effective action in unfamiliar and novel situat…