Organizational structure of the research groups of the University of Antioquia as a source of knowledge creation

Abstract

This paper proposes to show how research teams, Category A in the University of Antioquia, have exceeded traditional organizational structures of management theory in order to generate a structure for contemporary theory on knowledge management and organizational learning, working in groups and projects. The hypothesis of this study is based upon the theories of Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, who established the dynamic nature of knowledge creation. In order to ascertain the experiences and the dynamic carried out in the research activity of those participating in research groups, an information collection instrument (questionnaire) was distributed to the researchers. The results show that the members of the research teams assume different roles in their research work, revealing the autonomy and responsibility assumed by those in their projects, as well as the high level of satisfaction with respect to the learning experience. On the other hand, it was discovered that administrative structure favored by the research groups is ad hoc, composed of teams that organize themselves to carry out projects and to dissolve themselves upon the culmination of such projects and to reorganize themselves for new projects. In conclusion, this article demonstrates how new organizational structures of knowledge management indicate the obsolescence of traditional structures, and the necessity of adopting and adapting more adequate structures for knowledge creation, such as the hypertext organization recommended by the authors Nonaka and Takeuchi, which enables a company to create knowledge by the most efficient and ongoing means.