research@hec - Issue #6 - (Page V)

Historically, social network research has demonstrated that people who interact across organizational boundaries use knowledge more effectively and generate more innovation than those who remain within the confines of their unit. While this may be true, Marco Tortoriello’s research has provided a critical nuance to this idea, for it uncovers a fundamental limitation to this notion. In fact, the idea of fruitful cross-boundary exchange is based on the powerful assumption that it is easy for people with different expertise and backgrounds to interact and exchange. However, knowledge sharing is not always easy, especially when this knowledge is highly specialized and diverse. Cross-boundary interaction is certainly an effective source of new ideas, but it takes more than that to transform an idea into a concrete innovation. Building Innovation by Strengthening Bridges Key Ideas M THE CHALLENGES OF GENERATING INNOVATION Managers in all types of industry are increasingly being confronted with the same type of problems as the R&D division of the high tech company studied. Knowledge does not flow effortlessly between experts with diverse backgrounds and expertise. Communication and integration are difficult and must not be taken for granted. • Cross-organizational connections or “bridges” • It is great for people to share knowledge across organizational boundaries, but it is not always easy, nor is it always enough to generate innovation. • Stability of cross-boundary ties is crucial for effective exchange and collaboration, and third party involvement is crucial to create such an environment. • Network relationships cannot be deliberately engineered, but managers who encourage and support them can expect to reap benefits. are a first step toward generating innovative concepts, because bringing diverse knowledge from different parts of an organization together is a rich source of new ideas. However, there is a substantial difference between coming up with a new idea and implementing it. • The deeper you go into an area of expertise, the harder it becomes to share knowledge in ways that are accessible to others. Experts often struggle to communicate their knowledge to “non-experts” or to experts in other fields. They encounter languagerelated obstacles and often lose time due to misunderstandings. One unit of a company may have a problem and another a solution, but the two are often unable to connect. • Effective collaboration between people possessing different complex knowledge requires developing common language and understanding. This is the only means to create a stable foundation for fruitful exchange and subsequent use of knowledge. • People require easy, extensive, consistent, and involved access to those who possess complementary knowledge. Exchange may need to be interrupted so that a promising idea may be tested, for instance, but it is necessary for people to be able to effectively reconnect and resume their knowledge exchange. BIOGRAPHY Marco Tortoriello joined the HEC staff in 2006 as an assistant professor in the strategy and business policy department, and he currently teaches the core strategy course. His centers of interest include social networks and innovation, knowledge sharing, and social network evolution. He holds a PhD in industrial behavior from Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and an undergraduate degree from Bocconi University (Italy). December - January 2009 • research@hec V http://www.hec.edu/Faculty/Professors-alphabetical-list/(professor)/Tortoriello

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of research@hec - Issue #6

Contents
Research at HEC: My Opinion
Why CEOs Nearing Retirement are Averse to RiskGovernance Certification
Building Innovation by Strengthening Bridges
Rating agencies and firms: the attribution of ratingsproperty rights

research@hec - Issue #6

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