The impact of awareness and accessibility on expertise retrieval: A multilevel network perspective

Building on the major premises of transactive memory (TM) theory as well as the recent multilevel extension to the original theory, this study examined the influence of perceived social accessibility of expertise providers, technological accessibility, and awareness of expertise distribution on expertise retrieval. Using social network data collected from a large global sales team, the study found that all three variables had significant impact on expertise retrieval at both the dyadic and individual levels. Our study confirmed the conceptual and theoretical value of approaching TM from a multilevel network perspective. © 2010 ASIS&T.