Title:
A Study of the Impact
of
ICT on Technology Gatekeepers: A Research in Progress
Abstract: In
today’s rapidly changing business
environment, few firms can afford to remain completely self-sustaining.
For
firms competing on knowledge and the ability to innovate and adapt, it
is
essential that they keep abreast of the latest scientific and
technological
developments. Increasingly, this knowledge is dispersed outside the
firm’s
boundaries. How does this external knowledge which is critical to
success
get transferred and integrated into the firm? This research examines
this
topic through the lens of social networks. A large body of literature
exists
which highlights the importance which informal personal networks play
in
transferring knowledge within and between organisations (Allen and
Cohen
1969; Allen 1971; Chesbrough 2003; Teigland and Wasko 2003; Cross and
Parker
2004; Brown and Hagel 2006). It has been found that within these
informal
networks, there exist a small number of key people upon whom others
rely
heavily for information (Allen and Cohen 1969; Tushman 1977; Katz and
Tushman
2004). These key individuals or ‘technology gatekeepers’ are integral
components
of knowledge sharing networks. Gatekeepers gather, translate and encode
external
information into their local environment. Though not essentially
innovators
themselves, gatekeeper conversion is the key to launching an idea or an
innovation
(Barabasi 2003).
Author: Eoin Whelan