Research on trigger factors of knowledge acquisition and its influence mechanism on team creativity

Abstract

In this highly competitive era, firms face dynamic environments which are characterized by rapidly technological change and intense competition. For example, the instability of market demand, changes in industry structure, and the probability of environmental shocks are crucial elements of environmental dynamism. In a dynamic environment, organizations rely on creative and novel ideas from their employees, and creativity has been argued to be the crucial enabler for growth, performance, and competitiveness, because creativity helps organizations to reap pioneering advantages and affects firm-level strategies driving skills and market position in highly dynamic environments. Consequently, creativity is a core competence for organizations to maintain or enhance effectiveness in highly dynamic environments. Today, even the largest innovation-active organizations cannot rely solely on internal knowledge; they also require external knowledge when developing their creative ability in highly dynamic environments. Due to the potential influence of knowledge acquisition on creativity, it is crucial to find out how to trigger knowledge acquisition, which includes external knowledge search and internal knowledge sharing (i.e. Liu & Dang, 2013). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the trigger factors of knowledge acquisition (including external knoweldge search and internal knowledge sharing) and its influence mechanism on team creativity. In this study, we employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Specifically, first, we used qualitative method to explore the trigger factors of knowledge acquisition, which includes external knowledge search and internal knowledge sharing. Results showed that calling-orientation, personality, career-orientation, team climate, organizational/team culture, and organizational strategy are the main triggers of external knowledge search; Calling-orientation, personality, career-orientation, team climate, relationship perception, and organizational/team culture are the main triggers of internal knowledge sharing. Calling-orientation and personality traits belong to intrinsic triggers, while career-orientation, team climate, organizational/team culture, relationship perception, and organizational strategy belong to cognitive triggers. Second, we used quantitative method to examine how knowledge acquisition (including external knowledge search and internal knowledge sharing) affects team creativity. Results showed that both external knowledge search and internal knowledge sharing are positively related to team creativity, and absorptive capacity and knowledge integration play mediating roles in the relation between internal knowledge sharing and team creativity, as well as in the relation between external knowledge search and team creativity. Third, we used quantitative method to explore the moderating roles of environmental dynamism and task characteristics in the relationship between knowledge acquisition (including external knowledge search and internal knowledge sharing) and team creativity. Results showed that environmental dynamism plays a moderating role in the relation between external knowledge search and absorptive capacity, as well as in the relation between external knowledge search and knowledge integration. In addition, results showed that task interdependence and task complexity play moderating roles in the relationship between absorptive capacity and team creativity, as well as in the relationship between knowledge integration and team creativity. In practice, our research can help to explain how and when knowledge acquisition facilitates team creativity, and what managers and employees should do about it.