Introduction

A growing emphasis on the value and potential of organizational knowledge is reflected in the increasing amount of research output on this subject, as well as the growing number of firms that initiate and implement knowledge management (KM) programmes as a way of systematically mobilizing and utilizing their knowledge assets. While one stream of research addresses the need to externalize tacit knowledge to ensure its accessibility (e.g. Marwick, 2001), another stream characterizes the underlying activities through which knowledge is acquired (Huber, 1991), created (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995), shared (Brown and Duguid, 1991) and applied (Blackler, 1995). For the purpose of brevity, the authors refer to the latter stream of research as knowledge-related activity research.

Grant s (1996) theory of knowledge integration is an example of an attempt to synthesize these two streams of research. Grant (1996) noted that the primary role of the firm, and the essence of organizational capability, is the integration of knowledge (p. 375). There are two building blocks in Grant s theory of knowledge integration: the need for specialization to achieve economies of scope, or differentiation (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967) and the linking mechanisms to streamline and co-ordinate the specialized workforce, often referred to as integration (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967). The importance and relevance of knowledge integration to a firm s competitiveness have been well-established. The question, however, as to how established theory can be applied to examine new and emerging organizational forms remains unanswered.

To address this issue, this chapter focuses on...