Exploration and Exploitation

Knowledge sharing processes are a central feature of
the functioning of government. This has become even
more evident with the rise of digital government
initiatives, as these have a networking effect on
bureaucracies. With multiple agencies and
multidisciplinary knowledge coming together, it is
necessary to combine and reconnect the required
knowledge. Based on empirical data from four digital
government projects (DGPs) in Switzerland and the
United States of America, a theoretical model for
knowledge sharing in DGPs is proposed. The model ties
together processes and content of knowledge sharing
through two task dimensions, each of them subdivided
into two phases: (1) Conception and implementation of
the project, and (2) Exploration and exploitation
of knowledge. I show that the implementation of DG
requires a balanced mix of exploration and
exploitation of knowledge, where exploration is more
important in the conceptual phase, and exploitation
becomes more fruitful in the implementation phase. I
found that DGPs rely on sparse networks during the
conceptual phase of the project, and tend to employ
teams or tightly-bound groups as the project moves
towards implementation.

Autorentext

Maria Christina Binz-Scharf is Assistant Professor of Managementin the Economics Department at City College (CUNY), and aResearch Fellow at the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies.She holds a PhD in Management from the University of St. Gallenand a BA/MA from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

Klappentext

Knowledge sharing processes are a central feature of the functioning of government. This has become even more evident with the rise of digital government initiatives, as these have a networking effect on bureaucracies. With multiple agencies and multidisciplinary knowledge coming together, it is necessary to combine and reconnect the required knowledge. Based on empirical data from four digital government projects (DGPs) in Switzerland and the United States of America, a theoretical model for knowledge sharing in DGPs is proposed. The model ties together processes and content of knowledge sharing through two task dimensions, each of them subdivided into two phases: (1) Conception and implementation of the project, and (2) Exploration and exploitation of knowledge. I show that the implementation of DG requires a balanced mix of exploration and exploitation of knowledge, where exploration is more important in the conceptual phase, and exploitation becomes more fruitful in the implementation phase. I found that DGPs rely on sparse networks during the conceptual phase of the project, and tend to employ teams or tightly-bound groups as the project moves towards implementation.