The Relationship Between Knowledge Sharing And Virtual Team Performance

This study concerned with the knowledge sharing model in virtual teams in the information times. This paper first analyses the characteristic of virtual teams and knowledge management, and then puts forward a model of knowledge sharing in virtual teams. There are three stages in this study. At the first stage, we reviewed past literature about team and knowledge management, and proposed a theoretical model about knowledge sharing in virtual teams. In the second stage, an interview was conducted to analyze the practical characteristic of virtual teams and knowledge management, tested the theoretical model. In the third stage, 229 virtual teams members from 18 enterprises ( including state-owned, joint-ventures, private companies ) were surveyed by questionnaires. The conclusions indicate that: ( 1 ) the content of shared knowledge in virtual teams includes professional knowledge, non-professional knowledge and managment knowledge, and the ways of knowledge sharing including face-to-face knowledge sharing, electrical knowledge sharing and written knowledge sharing. ( 2 ) Knowledge sharing has a close relationship with job performance and can predict individual and team performance to a certain degree. ( 3 ) both TMX( team members exchange ) and the mentoring of team managers have close relationship with knowledge sharing, and can predict the essectiveness of knowledge sharing. ( 4 ) Managers in virtual teams are significantly different from employees in virtual teams in some of knowledge sharing dimensions. ( 5 ) During different virtual teams' task stages, there are significantly differences in knowledge sharing.