Knowledge sharing in temporary teams: Exploring the use of 3D printing in orthopaedic surgery

This study explores knowledge sharing in temporary teams which use 3D printing technology to support surgical interventions. We focus on the planning phase of orthopaedic surgeries when senior surgeons organise a temporary team to create personalised treatment using 3D printing technology. We conduct in-depth interviews with 25 surgeons and their teams in one of the leading orthopaedic research hospitals in Italy. Based on our qualitative evidence, we find that when the technology provides a basis for the surgical planning, knowledge sharing in teams mostly occurs through two-way – dyadic – relationships between team participants. Our findings also demonstrate that hierarchy within teams is important to support the formation of dyads thereby facilitating knowledge sharing practices within temporary teams. This study is novel in highlighting how temporary teams deal with knowledge sharing challenges due to the continuous changes in team composition in healthcare.