Kitchen Confidential? Norms for the Use of Transferred Knowledge in Gourmet Cuisine

Strategic Management Journal, Forthcoming

HEC Paris Research Paper No. SPE-2013-1002

41 Pages Posted: 7 Aug 2013 Last revised: 29 Oct 2013

See all articles by Giada Di Stefano

Giada Di Stefano

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology

Andrew A. King

Questrom School of Business- Boston University

Gianmario Verona

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology; SDA Bocconi

Date Written: August 6, 2013

Abstract

When will knowledge holders share their knowledge with peers? Several studies suggest that norms of knowledge disclosure encourage knowledge transfer. More recently, scholars have hypothesized that norms of knowledge use may indirectly promote it. In this article, we synthesize a theoretical framework of the effect of norms of knowledge use and test its predictions by means of a field experiment involving more than 500 Italian chefs. For the literature on knowledge transfer, we confirm the importance of norms, but we also show that they are not complete substitutes for other means of protecting private knowledge. For the literature on social norms, we provide evidence of how actors assess others’ propensity to conform and how this influences the intention to participate in the norm-regulated exchange.

Keywords: social norms, knowledge transfer, institutional theory, thick rationality, intellectual property

Suggested Citation

Di Stefano, Giada and King, Andrew A. and Verona, Gianmario, Kitchen Confidential? Norms for the Use of Transferred Knowledge in Gourmet Cuisine (August 6, 2013). Strategic Management Journal, Forthcoming, HEC Paris Research Paper No. SPE-2013-1002, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2306536

Giada Di Stefano (Contact Author)

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.unibocconi.eu/giadadistefano/

Andrew A. King

Questrom School of Business- Boston University ( email )

Boston, MA 02215
United States

Gianmario Verona

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

SDA Bocconi ( email )

Via Bocconi 8
Milan, Milan 20136
Italy

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