Transactive Memory System, Communication Quality, and Knowledge Sharing in Distributed Teams: An Empirical Examination in Open Source Software Project Teams
Xiaogang Chen · Journal of the Association for Information Systems · 2014
This study develops a research model explaining knowledge sharing among open source software (OSS) developers based on the theories of transactive memory system (TMS) and compensatory adaptation. Specifically, this study proposes that the TMS should be positively associated with knowledge sharing and the quality of communication among OSS developers. The quality of communication is positively associated with knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this study suggests that communication quality partially mediate the positive relationship between TMS and knowledge sharing. By collecting data from 120 OSS project teams, this study empirically confirms all the hypotheses.