The literature on transactive memory (TM) continues to grow in several interrelated scholarly fields. Although this increased interest in TM systems has been beneficial, it has also led to a plurality and confusing interpretation of TM theory. To identify gaps and ambiguities in TM literature, this article provides a comprehensive overview of TM theory, distinguishes TM systems from related cognitive concepts, and reviews theory extensions and research in dyads, groups, and teams. Suggested areas for future research and theory extensions are face-to-face communication influencing TM systems, social interaction processes related to expert inferences, task context and levels of analysis, and extension of research to work teams.
AkgunA. E., ByrneJ., KeskinH., LynnG. S., & ImamogluS. Z. (2005). Knowledge networks in new product development projects: A transactive memory perspective. Information & Management, 42, 1105–1120.
2.
AlaviM., & TiwanaA. (2002). Knowledge integration in virtual teams: The potential role of KMS. Journal of American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53, 1029–1037.
3.
AnandV., ManzC. C., & GlickW. H. (1998). An organizational memory to information management. Academy of Management Review, 23, 796–809.
ArgoteL., & IngramP. (2000). Knowledge transfer: A basis for competitive advantage in firms. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82, 150–169.
6.
AustinJ. (2003). Transactive memory in organizational groups: The effects of content, consensus, specialization, and accuracy on group performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 866–878.
7.
BolesT. L. (1999). Themes and variations in shared cognition in organizations. In ThompsonL. L., LevineJ. M., & MessickD. M., Shared cognition in organizations: The management of knowledge (pp. 327–348). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
8.
BorgattiS. P., & CrossR. (2003). A relational view of information seeking and learning in social networks. Management Science, 49, 432–445.
9.
BorgattiS. P., & FosterP. C. (2003). The network paradigm in organizational research: A review and typology. Journal of Management, 29, 991–1013.
10.
BrandonD. P., & HollingsheadA. B. (2004). Transactive memory systems in organizations: Matching tasks, expertise, and people. Organization Science, 15, 633–644.
11.
BraunerE., & BeckerA. (2006). Beyond knowledge sharing: The management of transactive knowledge systems. Knowledge and Process Management, 13, 62–71.
12.
BundersonJ. S. (2003). Recognizing and utilizing expertise in work groups: A status characteristics perspective. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48, 557–591.
13.
ClarkH. H., & BrennanS. E. (1991). Grounding in communication. In ResnickL. B., LevineJ. M., & TeasleyS. D., Perspectives on socially shared cognition (pp. 127–149). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
14.
ContractorN. S., WassermanS., & FaustK. (2006). Testing multitheoretical multilevel hypotheses about organizational networks: An analytical framework and empirical example. Academy of Management Review, 31, 681–703.
15.
DevadasR., & ArgoteL. (2006). Organizational learning and forgetting: The effects of turnover and structure. European Management Review, 3, 77–85.
16.
DooleyK. J., CormanS. R., & McPheeR. D. (2002). A knowledge directory for identifying experts and areas of expertise. Human Systems Management, 21, 217–228.
17.
EllisA. P. J. (2006). System breakdown: The role of mental models and transactive memory in the relationship between acute stress and team performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 576–589.
18.
EllisA. P. J., & BellB. S. (2005). Capacity, collaboration, and commonality: A framework for understanding team learning. In NeiderL. L. & ShriesheimC. A., Understanding teams: A volume in research in management (pp. 1–25). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
19.
FarajS., & SproullL. (2000). Coordinating expertise in software development teams. Management Science, 46, 1554–1568.
20.
FraidinS. N. (2004). When is one head better than two? Interdependent information in group decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 91, 102–113.
21.
GriffithT. L., & NealeM. A. (2001). Information processing in traditional, hybrid, and virtual teams: From nascent knowledge to transactive memory. Research in Organizational Behavior, 23, 379–421.
22.
GriffithT. L., SawyerJ. E., & NealeM. A. (2003). Virtualness and knowledge in teams: Managing the love triangle of organizations, individuals, and information technology. MIS Quarterly, 27, 265–287.
23.
HemetsbergerA., & ReinhardtC. (2006). Learning and knowledge-building in open-source communities – a social-experimental approach. Management Learning, 37, 187–214.
24.
HollingsheadA. B. (1998a). Communication, learning, and retrieval in transactive memory systems. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 34, 423–442.
25.
HollingsheadA. B. (1998b). Distributed knowledge and transactive processes in decision-making groups. In NealeM. A. & MannixE. A., Research on managing groups and teams (Vol. 1, pp. 103–123). London: JAI.
26.
HollingsheadA. B. (1998c). Retrieval process in transactive memory systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 659–671.
27.
HollingsheadA. B. (2000). Perceptions of expertise and transactive memory in work relationships. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 3, 257–267.
28.
HollingsheadA. B. (2001). Cognitive interdependence and convergent expectations in transactive memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1080–1089.
29.
HollingsheadA. B., & BrandonD. P. (2003). Potential benefits of communication in transactive memory systems. Human Communication Research, 29, 607–615.
30.
HollingsheadA. B., & FraidinS. N. (2003). Gender stereotypes and assumptions about expertise in transactive memory. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 355–363.
31.
HollingsheadA. B., FulkJ., & MongeP. (2002). Fostering intranet knowledge-sharing: An integration of transactive memory and public goods approaches. In HindsP. & KieslerS., Distributed work: New research on working across distance using technology (pp. 335–355). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
32.
IlgenD. R., HollenbeckJ. R., JohnsonM., & JundtD. (2005). Teams in organizations: From I-P-O models to IMOI models. In FiskeS. T., KasdinA. E., & SchacterD. L., Annual review of psychology (Vol. 56, pp. 517–543). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
33.
JanisI. (1972). Victims of groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
34.
JohanssonO., AnderssonJ., & RöennbergJ. (2000). Do elderly couples have a better prospective memory than other elderly people when they collaborate?Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14, 121–133.
35.
JohanssonO., AnderssonJ., & RöennbergJ. (2005). Compensating strategies in collaborative remembering in very old couples. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 46, 349–359.
36.
KarauS. J., WilliamsK. D. (1993). Social loafing: A meta-analytic review and theoretical integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 681–706.
37.
KatzN., LazerD., ArrowH., & ContractorN. (2004). Network theory and small groups. Small Group Research, 35, 307–332.
38.
KatzR. (1982). The effects of group longevity on project communication and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 27, 81–104.
39.
KieserA., & KochU. (2002). Organizational learning through rule adaptation: From the behavioral theory to transactive organizational learning. In AugierM. & MarchJ. G., The economics of choice, change, and organization: Essays in memory of Richard M. Cyert (pp. 237–249). Cheltenham, England: Elgar.
KotlarskyJ., & OshriI. (2005). Social ties, knowledge sharing and successful collaboration in globally distributed system development projects. European Journal of Information Systems, 14, 37–48.
42.
KozlowskiS. W. J., & BellB. S. (2003). Work groups and teams in organizations. In BormanW. C., IlgenD. R., & KlimoskiR. J., Handbook of psychology: Vol. 12. Industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 333–375). London: Wiley.
43.
KozlowskiS. W. J., & IlgenD. R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7, 77–124.
44.
KozlowskiS. W. J., & KleinK. J. (2000). A multilevel approach to theory and research in organizations: Contextual, temporal, and emergent processes. In KleinK. J. & KozlowskiS. W. J., Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations (pp. 3–90). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
45.
LarsonJ. R., Foster-FishermanP. G., & FranzT. M. (1998). Leadership style and the discussion of shared and unshared information in decision making groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 482–495.
46.
LernerJ. S., & TetlockP. E. (1999). Accounting for the effects of accountability. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 255–275.
47.
LevesqueL. L., WilsonJ. M., & WholeyD. R. (2001). Cognitive divergence and shared mental models in software development project teams. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 135–144.
48.
LevineJ. M., & MorelandR. L. (1998). Small groups. In GilbertD. T., FiskeT., & LindzeyF., Handbook of social psychology (4th ed., pp. 415–469). New York: McGraw-Hill.
49.
LevineJ. M., & MorelandR. L. (1999). Knowledge transmission in work groups: Helping newcomers to succeed. In ThompsonL. L., LevineJ. M., & MessickD. M., Shared cognition in organizations: The management of knowledge. (pp. 267–296). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
50.
LewisK. (2003). Measuring transactive memory systems in the field: Scale development and validation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 587–604.
51.
LewisK. (2004). Knowledge and performance in knowledge-worker teams: Longitudinal study of transactive memory systems. Management Science, 50, 1519–1533.
52.
LewisK., BelliveauM., HerdonB., & KellerJ. (2007). Group cognition, membership change, and performance: Investigating the benefits and detriments of collective knowledge. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 103, 159–178.
LiangD. W., MorelandR. L., & ArgoteL. (1995). Group versus individual training and group performance: The mediating role of transactive memory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 384–393.
55.
LinF. R., & LinS. C. (2001). A conceptual model for virtual organizational learning. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 11, 155–178.
56.
LondonM., PolzerJ. T., & OmoregieH. (2005). Interpersonal congruence, transactive memory, and feedback processes: An integrative model of group learning. Human Resource Development Review, 4, 114–135.
57.
MajchrzakA., JarvenpääS. L., & HollingsheadA. B. (2007). Coordinating expertise among emergent groups responding to disasters. Organization Science, 18, 147–161.
58.
MohammedS., & DumvilleB. C. (2001). Team mental models in a team knowledge framework: Expanding theory and measurement across disciplinary boundaries. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 384–393.
59.
MorelandR. L. (1999). Transactive memory: Learning who knows what in work groups and organizations. In ThompsonL. L., LevineJ. M., & MessickD. M., Shared cognition in organizations: The management of knowledge (pp. 3–32). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
60.
MorelandR. L., & ArgoteL. (2003). Transactive memory in dynamic organizations. In PetersonR. & MannixE. A., Understanding the dynamic organization (pp. 135–162). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
61.
MorelandR. L., ArgoteL., & KrishnanR. (1996). Socially shared cognition at work: Transactive memory and group performance. In NyeJ. L. & BrowerA. M., What's social about social cognition? Research on socially shared cognition in small groups (pp. 57–84). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
62.
MorelandR. L., ArgoteL., & KrishnanR. (1998). Training people to work in groups. In TindaleR. S., HeathL., EdwardsJ., PosavacE. J., BryantF. B., Suarez-BalcazarY., ) (, Theory and research on small groups (pp. 37–60). New York: Plenum.
63.
MorelandR. L., & MyaskovskyL. (2000). Exploring the performance benefits of group training: Transactive memory or improved communication?Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82, 117–133.
64.
MyaskovskyL., UnikelE., & DewA. (2005). Effects of gender diversity on performance and interpersonal behavior in small work groups. Sex Roles, 52, 645–657.
65.
NevoD., & WandY. (2005). Organizational memory information systems: A transactive memory approach. Decision Support Systems, 39, 549–562.
66.
PalazzoloE. T. (2005). Organizing for information retrieval in transactive memory systems. Communication Research, 32, 726–761.
67.
PalazzoloE. T., SerbD. A., SheY., SuC., & ContractorN. S. (2006). Coevolution of communication and knowledge networks in transactive memory systems: Using computational models for theoretical development. Communication Theory, 16, 233–250.
68.
PavittC. (2003). Colloquy: Do interacting groups perform better than aggregates of individuals? Why we have to be reductionists about group memory. Human Communication Research, 29, 592–599.
69.
PearsallM. J., & EllisA. P. J. (2006). The effects of critical team member assertiveness on team performance and satisfaction. Journal of Management, 32, 575–594.
70.
PeltokorpiV. (2004). Transactive memory directories in small work units. Personnel Review, 33, 446–467.
71.
PetersonE., MitchellT., ThompsonL., & BurrR. (2000). Collective efficacy and aspects of shared mental models as predictors of performance over time in work groups. Group Process & Intergroup Relations, 3, 296–316.
72.
PostmesT., SpearsR., & CihangirS. (2001). Quality of decision making and group norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 918–930.
73.
RauD. (2005). The influence of relationship conflict and trust on the transactive memory: Performance relation in top management teams. Small Group Research, 36, 746–771.
74.
RauD. (2006). Top management team transactive memory, information gathering, and perceptual accuracy. Journal of Business Research, 59, 416–424.
75.
ReagansR., ArgoteL., & BrooksD. (2005). Individual experience and experience working together: Predicting learning rates from knowing who knows what and knowing how to work together. Management Science, 51, 869–881.
76.
RenY., CarleyK. M., & ArgoteL. (2006). The contingent effects of transactive memory: When is it more beneficial to know what others know. Management Science, 52, 671–682.
77.
RulkeD. L., & GalaskiewiczJ. (2000). Distribution of knowledge, group network structure, and group performance. Management Science, 46, 612–625.
78.
RulkeD. L., & RauD. (2000). Investigating the encoding process of transactive memory development in group training. Group & Organization Management, 25, 373–396.
79.
RulkeD. L., ZaheerS., & AndersonM. H. (2000). Sources of managers’ knowledge of organizational capabilities. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82, 134–149.
80.
RuscherJ. B., & HammerE. D. (1994). Revising disturbed impressions through conversation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 530–541.
81.
StasserG., StewardD. D., & WittenbaumG. M. (1995). Expert roles and information exchange during discussion: The importance of knowing who knows what. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31, 244–265.
82.
StasserG., & TitusW. (2003). Hidden profiles: A brief history. Psychological Inquiry, 14, 304–313.
83.
Thomas-HuntM. C., OgdenT. Y., & NealeM. A. (2003). Who's really sharing? Effects of social and expert status on knowledge exchange within groups. Management Science, 49, 464–477.
84.
WegnerD. M. (1986). Transactive memory: A contemporary analysis of the group mind. In MullenB. & GoethalsG. R., Theories of group behavior (pp. 185–208). New York: Springer-Verlag.
85.
WegnerD. M. (1995). A computer network model of human transactive memory. Social Cognition, 13, 319–339.
86.
WegnerD. M., ErberR., & RaymondP. (1991). Transactive memory in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 923–929.
87.
WegnerD. M., GiulianoT., & HertelP. T. (1985). Cognitive interdependence in close relationships. In IckesW. J., Compatible and incompatible relationships (pp. 253–276). New York: Springer-Verlag.
88.
WeickK., & RobertsK. (1993). Collective mind in organizations: Heedful interrelating on flight decks. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38, 357–381.
89.
WilsonJ. M., GoodmanP. S., & CroninM. A. (2007). Group learning. Academy of Management Review, 32, 1041–1059.
90.
WittenbaumG. M. (1998). Information sampling in decision-making groups: The impact of members’ task-related status. Small Group Research, 29, 57–84.
91.
WittenbaumG. M. (2003). Putting communication into the study of group memory. Human Communication Research, 29, 616–623.
92.
WittenbaumG. M., HollingsheadA. B., & BoteroI. C. (2004). From cooperative to motivated information sharing in groups: Moving beyond the hidden profile paradigm. Communication Monographs, 71, 286–310.
93.
YangH.-L., & HoH.-C. (2007). Emergent standard of knowledge management: Hybrid peer-to-peer knowledge management. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 29, 413–422.
94.
YooY., & KanawattanachaiP. (2001). Developments of transactive memory systems and collective mind in virtual teams. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 9, 187–208.
95.
YuanY. C., FulkJ., & MongeP. R. (2007). Access to information in connective and communal transactive memory systems. Communication Research, 34, 131–155.
