FACTORS INFLUENCING KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN AN ELECTRONIC COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

Organisations invest heavily in knowledge management technologies and initiatives which are entirely dependent on the willingness of employees to share their knowledge. Educational and reward programs need to be informed by an understanding of what motivates people to share their knowledge at work. Prior research based on motivational theories suggests the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to encourage voluntary pro-social behaviours such as knowledge sharing. However, the literature on motivation in the context of knowledge sharing is still emerging and fragmented. This chapter therefore proposes an integrated model that brings together theoretical insights from motivational research to explain the influence of key intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on knowledge sharing. The chapter reports the results of the assessment of the model based on data collected across 10 organisations. The discussion of results contributes to the understanding of motivational factors influencing attitude and intention to share knowledge and their relative importance.

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Growing the ERM Energy and Climate Change Practice Through Knowledge Sharing

Journal of Information & Knowledge Management ◽

10.1142/s0219649210002644 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 09 (03) ◽

pp. 241-250

Author(s):

Susanne Etti ◽

Karen Perkinton ◽

Bonnie Cheuk ◽

John Curtis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Business Leaders ◽

Leadership Role ◽

Key Factors ◽

Resources Management ◽

Service Offering ◽

Training Service

Given the scale of the climate change crisis and the small window available in which to take action, Environmental Resources Management (ERM) has accelerated and supported the growth of the Energy and Climate Change practice by investing in training, service offering development, sales support, and knowledge management. This paper outlines the innovative approach that the Energy and Climate Change (E&CC) community of practice (CoP) has taken over the last two years to accelerate the growth of the practice using a holistic approach in the promotion of knowledge sharing at all levels across the company. The approach has shown that there are key factors that contribute to the success of the E&CC CoP. Central to this success is the close partnership and relationships between the knowledge sharing facilitator and the business leaders. The approach also demonstrates that the leader must take an active leadership role and spend sufficient time with members of the CoP.

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Designing, Setting Up, and Facilitating a Knowledge Sharing Virtual Community of Practice, between Social Work Lecturers in the UK and India

International Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/jkm.2012100102 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 22-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Isabel Williams

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Action Research ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Small Scale ◽

Virtual Community Of Practice ◽

One Year ◽

The Uk

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) which was developed between social work lecturers in two University settings – one in the UK and the other in India. The design and methodology draws on qualitative data collected from online discussions and semi-structured questionnaires arising from the involvement of twelve participants over a one year period. An Action Research method was adopted which allowed the shift of power from the designer to the participants over the year. This paper illustrates how a vCoP can be an ideal tool to aid communication and knowledge sharing between universities within an international context. It adds value by increasing the knowledge of participant lecturers to more than local perspectives and gives a greater understanding of social work from an international, cross-country, perspective. Although one of the limitations is that this is a small scale study, it does raise important considerations necessary for ensuring the success for vCoP’s and offers a model to aid successful online collaboration as well as important messages for those who are developing online courses and teaching within an international environment. It further gives insight into adopting Action Research as a research methodology that can be usefully used for online collaborative research.

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