Knowledge Heterogeneity, Knowledge Sharing and Team Creativity: A Case Study of 'Internet Plus' College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Teams

Based on team cooperation theory, this study establishes a mediation model involving knowledge heterogeneity, knowledge sharing, and team creativity. Drawing on knowledge innovation theory and social identity theory, it explores the process mechanism through which knowledge heterogeneity influences team creativity. The knowledge heterogeneity of "Internet Plus" college student innovation and entrepreneurship teams is categorized into three dimensions: explicit, pseudo-implicit, and true implicit. Using questionnaire data from 136 "Internet Plus" innovation and entrepreneurship competition teams, the research model is empirically tested using SPSS and AMOS software. The results show that different dimensions of knowledge heterogeneity have significant effects on knowledge sharing: explicit and pseudo-implicit knowledge heterogeneity exert significant positive effects, while true implicit knowledge heterogeneity has a significant negative effect. Knowledge sharing significantly promotes team creativity. Furthermore, knowledge sharing plays a mediating role in the relationship between knowledge heterogeneity and team creativity—partially mediating the effects of explicit and pseudo-implicit knowledge heterogeneity, and fully mediating the effect of true implicit knowledge heterogeneity.