Creating knowledge within a team: a socio-technical interaction perspective

Creating knowledge within a team for developing new products and services is considered a primary means for improving organizational performance. Drawing upon the socio‐technical perspective, we investigate the blended effects of social (learning culture, teamwork quality, and knowledge complexity) and technical (IT support) factors on team‐level knowledge creation and team performance. We propose a model that features synergetic interactions between social and technical factors in this knowledge creation process. The model was tested by utilizing data from a field survey of industry managers. The results show significant interactions between social and technical factors, which influence team‐level knowledge creation and, in turn, team performance. Our findings can be used to develop socio‐technical initiatives to enhance the process of creating team‐level knowledge within firms.