Knowledge Sharing in Cross-Functional Teams

Abstract: This thesis has the purpose to increase the understanding of knowledge sharing between dispersed units of a large organization. By conducting a qualitative study with an abductive approach, consisting of a case study at Volvo Group where we looked into a cross-functional committee, we researched what the knowledge sharing processes look like and what barriers hinder the sharing of knowledge. We used Nonakas (1994) model of Organizational Knowledge Creation and his SECI model to analyze the empirical material we gathered through interviews and observations. We found that cross-functional teams relying on online communication are facing some challenges when it comes to the sharing of knowledge. The barriers motivation and team commitment are intensified for cross-functional virtual teams since it is harder for these teams to find motivation and build team commitment since the team members rarely meet. In this thesis we argue that for a team to be able to share knowledge it has to focus on the sharing of tacit knowledge because when sharing tacit knowledge the members share perspectives and experiences and build trust. The trust and shared perspectives and hence the understanding of each other among the members are prerequisites to make other knowledge sharing mechanisms work.