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Article
Which Problems to Solve? Online Knowledge Sharing and Attention Allocation in Organizations
Academy of Management Journal
  • Martine R. HAAS, University of Pennsylvania
  • Paola CRISCULO, Imperial College London
  • Gerard GEORGE, Singapore Management University
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2015
Abstract

Why do individuals allocate attention to specific problems in organizations? Viewing online knowledge sharing as a matching process between knowledge providers and problems, we examine attention allocation in the context of an online community within which knowledge providers respond to problems posted by other organization members. We argue that knowledge providers are more likely to allocate attention to solving problems that more closely match their expertise, but that decisions to allocate attention are also influenced by problem characteristics such as length, breadth, and novelty, as well as by problem crowding. Analyzing 1,251 realized matches and 12,510 nonrealized matches among knowledge providers and problems posted over a 32-month period on an online discussion forum within a global engineering firm, we find evidence to support our claim that attention allocation is driven by the features of a particular provider–problem match, thereby shifting the discourse from knowledge provider–seeker relationships to knowledge provider–problem matches. The implications for theories of knowledge sharing, matching processes, and managerial attention are discussed.

Identifier
10.5465/amj.2013.0263
Publisher
Academy of Management
Copyright Owner and License
Publisher
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.0263
Citation Information
Martine R. HAAS, Paola CRISCULO and Gerard GEORGE. "Which Problems to Solve? Online Knowledge Sharing and Attention Allocation in Organizations" Academy of Management Journal Vol. 58 Iss. 3 (2015) p. 680 - 711 ISSN: 0001-4273
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gerard-george/15/