Knowledge Sharing among Accounting Academics in an Electronic Network of Practice

Abstract

SYNOPSIS: Using a multi-method approach, we explore accounting academics’ knowledge-sharing practices in an Electronic Network of Practice (ENOP)—the Accounting Education using Computers and Multimedia (AECM) email list. Established in 1996, the AECM email list serves the global accounting academic community. A review of postings to AECM for the period January–June 2006 indicates that members use this network to post questions, replies, and opinions covering a variety of topics, but focusing on financial accounting practice and education. Sixty-nine AECM members constituting 9.2 percent of the AECM membership base responded to a survey that measured their self-perceptions about altruism, reciprocation, reputation, commitment, and participation in AECM. The results suggest that altruism is a significant predictor of posting frequency, but neither reputation nor commitment significantly relate to posting frequency. These findings imply that designers and administrators of the recently launched AAA Commons platform should seek ways of capitalizing on the altruistic tendencies of accounting academics. The study’s limitations include low statistical power and potential inconsistencies in coding the large number of postings.

Investigating Factors Affecting Knowledge Sharing Intention of Salespeople

“…Previous studies also suggest that individuals participate in KM (Knowledge management) practices to improve or establish a reputation (Constant et al, 1996;Davenport & Prusak, 1998;Donath, 1999;Taylor & Murthy, 2009;Wasko & Faraj, 2005) or to earn peer recognition (Carrillo, Robinson, Al-Ghassani, & Anumba, 2004). This finding is also consistent with past researches done on KS in online voluntary communities and electronic repositories (Kankanhalli et al, 2005;Wasko & Faraj, 2000).…”

A Personal View of the Evolution of the Accounting Professoriate

“…In recent times as well, the number of accounting theory courses offered in accounting degree programs has dropped off significantly. To be sure, a lively dialogue, often invoking these theorists and their works, does appear in blogs, forums, and other forms of networked communications (Taylor and Murthy, ), but not in journals or books.…”

Social Media Tools and Platforms in Learning Environments

“…Individuals enjoy helping others because of their intrinsic motivations. Altruism and enjoy helping have been shown to significantly influence blogging behaviour (Taylor and Murthy 2009;Hsu and Lin 2008) while others have found an insignificant relationship (Wasko and Faraj 2005). Knowledge contributors gain satisfaction from their intrinsic enjoyment in helping others (Constant et al 1994).…”

“…Results of research conducted for online knowledge sharing behaviour of students is inconsistent, with students using the systems differently. Research conducted within another type of voluntary blogging community shows that both readers and posters value the information contained within the community (Taylor and Murthy 2009). Research conducted within another type of voluntary blogging community shows that both readers and posters value the information contained within the community (Taylor and Murthy 2009).…”

“…Social capital theory or social influences are often used to explain behavioural intentions (see Chiu et al 2006;Chow and Chan 2008;Hsu and Lin 2008;Kankanhalli et al 2005;Wasko and Faraj 2005;Taylor and Murthy 2009). The range of different types of blogging communities researched and their differing community characteristics means that research should be conducted into various types of blogging communities, as well as the factors influencing participant intentions which vary across different blogging situations.…”