Knowledge sharing in information system development teams: examining the impact of shared mental model from a social capital theory perspective

Shared mental model (SMM), a concept from psychology, is defined as a common thinking style developed when individuals perform similar tasks in a cohesive manner. In this article, we investigate the relationship between the three dimensions of social capital and SMM. We also examine whether SMM mediates the impact of social capital on knowledge sharing (KS) behaviour in information system development (ISD) teams. Social capital is defined as the resource of social relationships owned by individuals. It is useful for explaining human behaviour in social networks. The data collected represent 492 ISD professionals in 118 teams from 18 middle-sized enterprises. The results of this study indicate that social capital theory is useful for explaining the antecedents of SMM, and SMM is positively related to KS and team performance. This research also emphasises the importance of developing SMM in a team.