O papel das redes sociais no processo de aprendizagem organizacional: um estudo de caso em sucursal de banco português

The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of social networks on organizational learning. A qualitative study – simple case study - was used to collect data, via face-to-face interviews with key members that are the most involved in a Portuguese Bank. Data were analyzed with a qualitative technique based: content analysis. Results emphasize the impact of social networks, strength of ties and friendship on organizational learning. From the empirical evidences, we conclude that top management and directors at an organizational level need to pay careful attention to the social networks within which knowledge transfer efforts occur. Resources exchanged developed through social interactions must be designed to increase knowledge flows between collaborators. Finally, the paper links two bodies of research often studied separately in organizational research: literature on social networks and that on organizational learning. It is hoped that the paper contributes to a cross-fertilization of the two fields.