Editor's Choice: : Not invented here: how institutionalized socialization practices affect the formation of negative attitudes toward external knowledge

Abstract: Management literature highlights several potential benefits of institutionalized socialization practices that attempt to increase cohesiveness among employees. This article posits that such practices might also contribute to a biased perception of internally generated knowledge and therefore to a greater reluctance to adopt external knowledge, enhancing the so-called not-invented-here (NIH) syndrome. Drawing on multi-informant survey data, the authors find that institutionalized socialization practices are associated with the NIH syndrome. This association is, however, muted in highly technologically specialized companies.

Editor's Choice: : Not invented here: how institutionalized socialization practices affect the formation of negative attitudes toward external knowledge Articles