Applying knowledge management principles to enhance cross‐functional team performance

Abstract

Traditional organizations with heavy internal competition, rigid functional silos and undue compartmentalization exhibit sub‐optimal performance by inhibiting critical knowledge flows. Cross‐functional teaming attempts to solve this problem by building organizational connections across functional silos. However, merely bringing members of formerly isolated departments together produces only marginal increases in performance. Any synergistic collaboration is likely to arise serendipitously and unpredictably. We propose a systematic approach for combining the principles of knowledge management and cross‐functional teaming in ways that purposefully enhance knowledge flows and result in significant improvements in organizational performance as measured by cost, time and quality.