Knowledge sharing and group cohesiveness on performance: An empirical study of technology R&D teams in Taiwan

Organizations have become increasingly dependent on teams to carry out their R&D tasks. Effective teams rely on knowledge sharing and group cohesiveness to achieve better performance. In particular, the transactive memory system (TMS) and trust are two important factors that impact knowledge sharing in R&D teams. To date, there has been relatively little empirical investigation of the effects of knowledge sharing and group cohesiveness on team performance in technology R&D teams. This study proposes a research model based on knowledge sharing and group cohesiveness to examine team performance in technology R&D teams. The research model is composed of two parts: knowledge sharing predicted by TMS and trust, and team performance predicted by knowledge sharing and group cohesiveness. Our research model is assessed using data from a sample of 290 members of 60 R&D teams in a government-supported R&D institute and is analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The results of this study suggest: (1) TMS positively and significantly mediates the relationship between trust and knowledge sharing and (2) group cohesiveness exerts a positive and significant effect on team performance. This study also discusses the implications of knowledge sharing and group cohesiveness with team performance for technology R&D teams. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.