| This dissertation investigated the dynamics of knowledge sharing in a case involving multiple organizations, divisions, and geographically separated offices in developing the Multi-Purpose Access for Customer Relations & Operational Support (MACROS) system. The research results showed that, in this case, knowledge sharing across boundaries was successful in that the MACROS project has created and institutionalized an information system as well as other organizational structures and practices that facilitate knowledge sharing in an organization where intelligence had previously been distributed and segmented.; Success, however, has to be based on individual as well as collective efforts to overcome barriers to change and create new models of thinking and acting. The case results showed that during this process of change several factors—distributed leadership, incentive alignment, group coordination, trust, technology, and implementation strategy—played important roles that influenced the project's success. In addition to their unique contribution to the knowledge sharing processes, these factors have also interacted with one another, and that the interactions were crucial, if not more important, for the collaborative success.; Furthermore, the nature of the knowledge being shared had a positive influence on the knowledge sharing process. In particular, there has been alignment between the nature of knowledge and the organizational and technological factors and, because knowledge had been successfully transformed into a more transferable form, this knowledge transformation in turn has improved the effectiveness of knowledge sharing and learning.; Although what occurred in the MACROS project is an important achievement in itself, this study also has theoretical and practical implications that can be applied to a larger set of problems encountered in sizable organizations, such as multinational corporations, large companies and not-for-profit organizations, and state and Federal governments, where knowledge is distributed, and sharing is, on the one hand, so important, yet, on the other hand, so difficult. This dissertation incorporates research in multiple areas of study and the results provide an integrated research framework through which the dynamics of cross-boundary knowledge sharing can be better understood. |
