Whelan, E., Ahonen, M. and Donnellan, Brian (2008) Knowledge Diffusion in R&D Groups: The Impact of Internet Technologies. In: ECIS 2008 Proceedings. European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL).
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Abstract
Knowledge flows are the lifeblood of any R&D organisation. These firms are increasingly
discovering that the knowledge they require is often located beyond their boundaries. In this paper,
we investigate how R&D groups acquire and diffuse external knowledge and the role Internet
technologies play in this process. The focus of our study is on the technological gatekeeper. Previous
studies have found that gatekeepers are key nodes in the innovation process. These sporadic
individuals have the skills to identify useful knowledge outside the firm and disseminate this among
their local colleagues. However, much of the seminal gatekeeper research has been conducted over
two decades ago. In the time since, there have been huge advances in ICT and especially Internet
technologies. These technologies have dramatically altered how knowledge workers source and share
their information. Our objective is to advance the gatekeeper theory into an era where the knowledge
worker is saturated with information. Using case study methods, we examine knowledge flows in the
R&D group of an Irish medical devices firm. Our results indicate that due to advances in Internet
technology, the traditional gatekeeper no longer exists to any great extent. Instead, the modern R&D
lab acquires and diffuses external knowledge through a combination of a ‘web gatekeeper’ and a
‘knowledge transformer.’
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Additional Information: | Cite as: Whelan, E.; Ahonen, M.; and Donnellan, B., "Knowledge Diffusion in R&D Groups: The Impact of Internet Technologies" (2008). ECIS 2008 Proceedings. 150. https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2008/150 |
Keywords: | Technological gatekeeper; knowledge management; open innovation; internet; web 2.0; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business |
Item ID: | 10813 |
Depositing User: | Prof. Brian Donnellan |
Date Deposited: | 24 May 2019 13:43 |
Publisher: | European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Related URLs: | |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/10813 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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