Patterns of Information Retrieval in Communicationnetworks: a Study of Transactive Memory in Organizational Workteams

As the amount of information accessible continues togrow, information retrieval becomes an increasinglycomplex process that organizational employees mustnavigate many times each day. Transactive memory (TM) theory explains how a team works as a system to gain, organize, and utilize information by sharing two ormore individuals' memories through variouscommunication processes. This book explorescommunication to retrieve information inorganizational work teams from the combinedprospective of TM theory and social networks. Here, the processes of TM theory are explicitly defined innetworks terms, thereby allowing the use of advancedsocial network analysis techniques (that is, p* orExponential Random Graph Models) for hypothesistesting and theoretical development. This research isbased on observed information retrieval patterns fromseven intact organizational work teams acrossmultiple industries. This book addresses managers, employees, andacademics who are interested in better understandingthe intertwined relationship between communicationnetworks and knowledge networks in work teams.