Transforming I into we in organizational knowledge creation: A case study

• Published date: 01 December 2019
• Author: Jisun Ahn,Ah Jeong Hong
• Date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21371

QUALITATIVE STUDY

Transforming I into we in organizational

knowledge creation: A case study

Jisun Ahn | Ah Jeong Hong

Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea

Correspondence

Ah Jeong Hong, Chung-Ang University,

84 Heukseok-Ro, Dongjak-Gu, Seoul, South

Korea.

Email: ah454@cau.ac.kr

Abstract

This study examined the process by wh ich individual

knowledge is transformed into or ganizational knowledge

by clarifying the sensemaking pro cess. Although several

earlier studies on organizational learning have argued that

knowledge sharing among members is im portant, research

detailing the development of the knowl edge-sharing

process is relatively rare. The current study addre sses

this gap by using a qualitative case study of a Korea n

government-funded organization to e xamine the organiza-

tional knowledge-sharing process. The findings suggest

that learning for organizational kn owledge generation

depends on participation and communi cation and requires

voluntary, dynamic interactio ns based on intersubjectivity

among the organization's member s. This study has impor-

tant theoretical and practical implic ations for future

research on organizational knowl edge sharing and provides

a new theoretical framework for the field of human

resource development.

KEYWORDS

intersubjectivity, organizational knowledge sharing, organizational

learning, sensemaking

1|INTRODUCTION

Organizational knowledge is generated by individuals and distributed among an organization's members. Although an

individual's knowledge is an asset that can provide competitive advantage, such knowledge must be converted into

organizational knowledge to be an important element of the organizational culture (Argote, 2011; Popova-Nowak &

DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21371

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Human Resource Development Quarterly. 2019;30:565–582. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrdq 565

Cseh, 2015; Song & Chermack, 2008). Organizational knowledge is embedded in the organization's systems, struc-

tures, and culture (Cummings & Worley, 2009). However, due to a lack of understanding among researchers of epis-

temological and ontological substance of organizational knowledge generation and organizational learning (Easterby-

Smith, Crossan, & Nicolini, 2000; B. Levitt & March, 1988; Rowlinson, Booth, Clark, Delahaye, & Procter, 2010),

coherent development of perspectives or practices in this field is lacking, causing various contradictions in the orga-

nizational knowledge-generation process.

Many researchers have argued that the social learning that generates organizational knowledge is more

than the sum of all individuals' learning (Fiol & Lyles, 1985; Hedberg, 1981; Shrivastava, 1983). However, there

is no apparent difference between individual and organizational levels of knowledge and learning (Karatas¸-

Özkan & Murphy, 2010). This has created controversy regarding the fundamental relationship between indi-

vidual and organizational knowledge (Hecker, 2012). The starting point of this disagreement is that, regardless

of the type of knowledge, the individual who creates, holds, and util izes knowledge is the basis for knowledge

generation (Foss, 2007; Simon, 1991). Thus, it may be difficult to distinguish between organizational and indi-

vidual knowledge. From a social constructivist perspective, individual and organizational knowledge are mutu-

ally constructed; however, these two types of knowledge cannot be the same. Individual knowledge is created,

maintained, and utilized by an individual's subjective sensemaking process while organizational knowledge

comprises collective meanings and structures developed within the organization (Cecez-Kecmanovic & Jerram,

2002; Weick, 1995). Therefore, it is important to understand how individual-level knowledge is integrated and

shared within the organization.

Until recently, research on organizational knowledge creation has used empirical methods to study organizational

culture or learning. In fact, more than 90% of organizational learning studies published in major journals from 2000

to 2010 were quantitative (Alok, 2012). One recent study (Filstad, Simeonova, & Visser, 2018) suggested that some

organizational learning tools (e.g., social media) serve as mere tools of information transfer and do not lead to the

development of common meanings and practices among members.

Given the complexity and interdependence of organizational phenomena, single-level studies cannot consider

the complete organization (Korte, 2008). Accordingly, this study considers the development of organizational learn-

ing at the knowledge-sharing level based on the conceptual framework of Carlile (2004), who utilized three levels of

communication complexities, the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic levels, to help us better understand the amount

of intersubjectivity required in the knowledge-sharing phase.

Regarding organizational knowledge sharing, Weick (1995) perceived organizations as “becoming”rather than

“being,”in accordance with the social constructivist perspective. Furthermore, Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) refer to

sensemaking as organizational knowledge generation, viewing organizational knowledge as a process rather than a

state of knowledge transfer. Therefore, from a sensemaking perspective, the inherent tension among organizational

knowledge, intersubjectivity, and subjective individual knowledge is an important source of learning within the orga-

nization (Plaskoff, 2003; Weick, 1995).

To understand the organizational sensemaking process, this study examined how members of a Korean public

organization developed intersubjectivity after having to adapt to an environmental change caused by a local transfer

of headquarters. Recently, Korean government-funded public organizations have been undergoing significant envi-

ronmental changes, and one key driver of such changes has been the transfer of headquarters. Ongoing environmen-

tal changes can affect the generation of new knowledge depending on how members perceive and react to such

changes (Weick, 1995). This study aimed to understand how organizational members perceived a particular environ-

mental issue driving the sensemaking process and to examine how perceptual differences among membersgenerate

organizational knowledge. In particular, the study focused on how the purpose and specific contexts of an organiza-

tion were shared and combined into a common understanding to transform individual subjective knowledge into

organizational knowledge.

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