Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2017

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, School of Management

Knowledge is considered as a key success factor of the new product development (NPD) projects. Firms invest their time and other resources to access knowledge from diverse sources to enhance their capabilities. Therefore, this study investigates the ways in which Psychological Safety (PS) can be enacted when individuals engage in knowledge search in NPD projects. Selection of a source of knowledge is a complex phenomenon that is often addressed from an organizational viewpoint; however, we know little about knowledge seeking practices at the individual level. Our aim is to examine knowledge sourcing in NPD teams at the micro-level through the lens of the PS. This study investigated 1339 individuals in 85 software development teams. This study demonstrates that different levels of PS affect the selection of different sources of knowledge, which are divided into three groups: intra team, intra-organization, and extra-organizational resources. Our results showed that individuals with high psychological level are more inclined towards intra-team and intra organizational sources of knowledge. Moreover, individuals with low level of PS due to perceived high interpersonal risks are more inclined towards extra-organizational sources. This study also examined how the functional diversity in team composition moderates the relationship between PS and sources of knowledge. This study explored the implications of these findings for managerial practice.