Knowledge and Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Communities

Author(s):  
Ben Kei Daniel

Knowledge management and knowledge sharing are topics best addressed in a different book. This Chapter is intentionally introduced in the book to introduce the reader to knowledge management and knowledge sharing and to think about these growing areas where there are potential opportunities to apply social capital to solve real world practical problems. Though the use of social capital and knowledge management was briefly introduced in Chapter 3, by reiterating these two issues here it will broaden the reader’s understanding of the critical role social capital plays in enhancing knowledge management through knowledge sharing in virtual communities. In addition, this Chapter discusses some of the most important challenges to knowledge sharing in virtual communities. Furthermore, this Chapter describes the basic concepts often associated with knowledge management and social capital.

Author(s):  
Kijpokin Kasemsap

This chapter indicates the overview of Knowledge Management (KM); KM and innovation; KM and human capital; KM and social capital; KM and Human Resource Management (HRM); the significant perspectives on KM; and the advanced issues of knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing, and knowledge mapping. KM is the advanced method toward better organizational performance through knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing, and involves various organizational factors, such as people, process, technology, and culture. Utilizing KM can enhance the execution of innovation, human capital, social capital, decision making, and HRM in modern organizations. Regarding KM perspectives, creating and distributing new knowledge through effective knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing have the potential to increase organizational performance and gain sustainable competitive advantage in the knowledge era.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1105-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anirban Ganguly ◽  
Asim Talukdar ◽  
Debdeep Chatterjee

Purpose Knowledge sharing has become an integral part of organizations’ business strategies, along with aiding organizations to grow and innovate in the market, and gain competitive advantage. This paper aims to concentrate on the role of tacit knowledge sharing in fostering innovation capability of an organization. Specifically, the study considers social capital (relational, cognitive and structural) as an important precursors to tacit knowledge sharing, which in turn, influences innovation capability of an organization. The study further discusses the role that knowledge reciprocation plays in successful tacit knowledge sharing. The relation between knowledge quality and innovation capability is also discussed in the paper. Design/methodology/approach The investigation started with a review of extant literature in the field of knowledge sharing and innovation to derive a set of constructs. A set of hypotheses was developed based on the identified constructs, which was subsequently validated through a primary survey based on a structured questionnaire on a sample size of 190 respondents from the Indian industrial domain. The survey responses were subsequently analysed using the statistical technique of structural equation modeling and conclusions were drawn from the findings. Additionally, careful attention was paid in eliminating the common method bias, which is often associated with a primary survey. Findings A set of six hypotheses were derived based on the identified constructs and were subsequently validated. While validating the hypotheses, it was observed that while knowledge reciprocity, relational social capital and cognitive social capital was positive associated with tacit knowledge sharing, structural social capital did not have a significant effect on the same. Additionally, it was also observed that both tacit knowledge sharing and the quality of knowledge were positively associated with innovation capability. Practical implications The present day business marked by intense competition requires firms to be more aware of their innovative capabilities. Effective sharing of knowledge or information can be deemed as a vital component in achieving this objective. Organizations that practice and nurture innovation activities can use the findings of the current study as a part of their knowledge management strategy. In addition to using the explicit knowledge, which are structured in nature, organizations can also start using tacit knowledge to harness their innovation potential – and the findings from the current study can act as a motivational tool for them to do so. Originality/value Although there is a growing body of literature concerning the role of knowledge management in innovation, there still a dearth in discussing the role of tacit knowledge sharing in exploiting the innovation capability of an organization. The main discussion of this paper brings together a set of important constructs that exhibits the significant role that tacit knowledge sharing plays in determining the innovation capability of an organization. Furthermore, it tries to marry the concepts of social capital and tacit knowledge sharing with innovation capability, therefore adding significantly to the body of literature in knowledge management as well as innovation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiu-Ping Hsu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model of how both the benefits and risks of social capital influence online knowledge sharing among virtual community members towards enhancing members’ relationship continuity and virtual community reputations. In addition, this study addresses the effects of complementary resources on knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach – The structural equation modelling approach was applied to estimate the conceptual model by using survey data from virtual community members. A total of 626 valid questionnaires were collected. Findings – The empirical results showed that most of the research hypotheses were supported. The benefits of social capital and complementary resources have a positive effect on knowledge sharing, thereby strengthening relationship continuity and community reputation. Furthermore, the risk of social capital has a negative effect on knowledge sharing, as expected. Originality/value – A review of the literature reveals a lack of studies focusing on both the positive and negative influences of social capital on online knowledge sharing. This study therefore contributes to a comprehensive perspective for understanding online knowledge sharing in virtual communities.


Author(s):  
Shafiz A. Mohd Yusof

This chapter attempts to explore the possibility of building social capital in virtual community(VC) by first introducing the phenomenon, its problems and context, types of VCs and the significance of knowledge sharing. This chapter then presents the process of social capital from a sociological standpoint where two main theories will be used—the elementary theory of social structure and the social exchange theory as the backbone of the arguments. By integrating both theories, a conceptual framework that includes six antecedents to develop social capital is provided. Subsequently, the propositions are expressed in terms of implications to the sociological approach of VC and some conclusions are made by including some future research agenda.


Author(s):  
Anjum Razzaque

Past scholars propose knowledge management (KM) frameworks, but few bare deployable KM strategies, particularly for the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) public sector. The GCC invests heavily in the KM infrastructure for its healthcare, banking, education, and now in the Ministry of Interior (MoI). A literature review revealed the need to cognize the effect of employees learning readiness (LR) and social capital (SC) on knowledge sharing (KS) in virtual communities. This study assesses these three constructs in a proposed model and tests the model using an online survey distributed to 400 Kingdom of Bahrain's (KoB)'s MoI employees. Multiple regression analysis revealed a fit proposed model of this study which articulates that organizational learning is possible thru VC KS when facilitated by LR and SC: equipping organizations to bank its social capital of employee resources in knowledge bases for future knowledge acquisition, and re-use. Theoretical and practical implications are also part of this chapter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayees Farooq

Purpose Knowledge management is a function of learning orientation, knowledge sharing, organizational memory and knowledge reuse. This paper aims to endeavor to explore a link between knowledge management and value creation which seem to be fragmented in the literature due to various conceptualizations and meanings. The study hypothesized a moderating role of social capital on the relationship between knowledge management and value creation. Design/methodology/approach The study was approached from the theoretical perspective. Study thoroughly reviews and analyzes the literature by developing a link between knowledge management and value creation. The studies were explored from selected databases including “Google scholar”, “Emerald” and “ProQuest” using the keyword search, namely, “Knowledge Sharing”, “Learning Orientation”, “Organizational Memory”, “Knowledge Re-use”, “Knowledge Management”, “Knowledge-based View”, “Competitive Advantage”, “Value Creation” and “Social Capital” to reduce the interpretation bias. Findings Knowledge management is an important predictor of value creation which can be strengthened by developing strong interpersonal relationships with all stakeholders. Organizations can create competitive advantage by managing social capital through knowledge management processes including learning orientation, knowledge sharing, organizational memory and knowledge reuse. Research limitations/implications The study is based on a theoretical model and an apparent limitation is the non-existence here of contributions and discussions that have been based on empirical data. Future study may use other moderating and mediating variables such as industry type, market orientation, human capital and organizational climate to know whether knowledge management directly affects the value creation or indirectly through these variables. The hypotheses emerged from the model can be operationalized by generating the items from the review of the literature. Originality/value The study contributes to the knowledge management literature by developing a theoretical model of knowledge management based on underlying dimensions of learning orientation, knowledge sharing, organizational memory and knowledge re-use.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (03) ◽  
pp. 1550020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iftikhar Hussain ◽  
Anum Khan ◽  
Amber Qurashi ◽  
Qurat-ul-Ain ◽  
Asma Shabbir

To investigate the critical role that knowledge sharing enablers play in putting into practice knowledge management within schools' and impacting schools' performance. The field of knowledge management aims at enhancing performance through knowledge sharing enablers. However, not all knowledge sharing enablers have same effects. This study attempted at categorizing enablers among knowledge management users/teachers and examine whether performance changes due to these enablers. Existing literature was reviewed to shape the study design. Present research is quantitative in nature and was conducted through personal interviews to explore the proposed relationships. An instrument was adopted which was tested for validity and reliability. The research instrument was administered to respondents and 110 responses were acquired. Convenience sampling is used to select the respondents. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis were used to analyse data. The current research found that among the knowledge sharing enablers' cultural characteristics, rewards and incentives, management support, and organisation structure have significant positive relationship with schools' performance and these results supported the previous studies. The findings also indicate that growth in job and task achievement is also positively related with schools' performance. The result also revealed that knowledge sharing enablers (cultural characteristics, rewards and incentives, management support, organisation structure) are becoming important to increase teachers' motivation. The findings also reflect that among the knowledge sharing enabler's; organisation structure has more influence on employees' performance. The present research results not only confirmed theory with practice; but also presented a reference for the knowledge practitioners as well as the teachers and business professionals. The present study has revealed that setting up knowledge sharing enablers are important for implementing knowledge management and is an important mean for improving organisational performance. Knowledge sharing does not only help in managing knowledge, but instead it plays the role of enhancing organisational performance by taking on the duty of assisting and coordinating different departments in their sharing of information and knowledge.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHALEE VORAKULPIPAT ◽  
YACINE REZGUI

AbsractThe paper provides a review of knowledge management (KM) literature with a focus on recent value creation trends of the KM discipline. The review spans a large spectrum of KM research ranging from the ‘soft’ (socio-organizational) to technical dimensions of KM, published in the academic and trade literature. An interpretive stance is adopted so as to provide a holistic understanding and interpretation of organizational KM research and models. Value creation is grounded in the appropriate combination of human network, social capital, intellectual capital, and technology assets, facilitated by a culture of change. It is argued that to be effective organizations need not only to negotiate their migration from a knowledge sharing to a knowledge creation culture, but also to create sustained organizational and societal values. The latter form the foundation of the proposed ‘knowledge value creation’ concept and represent key organizational and societal challenges faced by modern organizations.


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