How to make use of team knowledge variety? The role of power disparity

• Published in: Journal of knowledge management 2022-03, Vol.26 (3), p.722-742
• Main Authors: Yao, Jin, Liu, Xinmei, He, Wenxin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Communication; Creativity; Decision making; Knowledge management; Knowledge sharing; Moderators; Multiple regression analysis; Power; R&D; Research & development; Team leaders; Teams; Workplace diversity
• ISSN: 1367-3270; 1758-7484
• DOI: 10.1108/JKM-08-2020-0620

Purpose Based on the social dominance theory, this study aims to theorize the moderating effect of power disparity in the impact of team knowledge variety on team creativity and further to verify team open communication as the mediating mechanism of the aforementioned interactive effect. Design/methodology/approach The multisource (team members and their team leaders) and longitudinal (separated by four months) survey data were collected from 67 research and development teams in China to test the research model. The authors used multiple regression analyses to validate all the proposed hypotheses. Findings Results reveal that team knowledge variety has a more positive impact on team creativity when teams have lower power disparity. Besides, team open communication is significantly and positively related to team creativity and mediates the interactive effect of team knowledge variety and team power disparity on team creativity. Originality/value This study reconciles the mixed findings in the previous study and provides new insights regarding the functionality of team knowledge variety. By identifying team power disparity as a moderator in shaping the effects of team knowledge variety, the authors extend the research that explores the moderators of the team knowledge variety–team creativity relationship, and make comprehensive consideration of the coexistence of multiple diversities within teams (i.e. knowledge variety and power disparity) and their joint effects on team creativity. Besides, this research identifies team open communication as an important underlying mechanism in transmitting the interactive effects of two different types of diversities on team creativity, thus offering new insights on how teams can perform creatively.