The use of different information and communication technologies to support knowledge sharing in organizations: From e‐mail to micro‐blogging

Abstract

Previous research has revealed the following three challenges for knowledge sharing: awareness of expertise distribution, motivation for sharing, and network ties. In this case study, we examine how different generations of information and communication technologies (ICTs), ranging from e‐mail to micro‐blogging, can help address these challenges. Twenty‐one interviews with employees from a multinational company revealed that although people think social media can better address these challenges than older tools, the full potential of social media for supporting knowledge sharing has yet to be achieved. When examining the interconnections among different ICTs, we found that employees′ choice of a combination of ICTs, as affected by their functional backgrounds, could create “technological divides” among them and separate resources. This finding indicates that having more ICTs is not necessarily better. ICT integration, as well as support for easy navigation, is crucial for effective knowledge search and sharing. Adaptation to local culture is also needed to ensure worldwide participation in knowledge sharing.

A Model of Social Media Engagement: User Profiles, Gratifications, and Experiences

“…While social media has been criticized as a platform where people can keep their network informed of mundane activities, such as what they ate for breakfast [27], at the other end of the spectrum, people find and share consumer, business, and special event information and learn new things [64]. Social media also enable people to encounter and maintain awareness of professional or work-related information [67]. Through social media, university students share information about social functions, friends, and academic information [3,18,49], making these sites valuable resources.…”

Digital Business Discourse

“…In addition to being used by individuals working alone, IM is also a tool that allows for multitasking during group events, such as meetings, particularly when the norms of the organization support the use of IM and other tools for extra-meeting communication (Dennis et al, 2010;Stephens & Davis, 2009;Yuan et al, 2013). Observations by Dennis et al of two U.S.-based companies found that many IMs sent and received during meetings were not related to the meeting at hand.…”

“…While email remains the dominant computer-mediated communication (CMC) tool in most organizations (D'Urso & Pierce, 2009;, IM is becoming more important in a number of business settings, particularly in multinational organizations (Hunt, 2009;Yuan et al, 2013). One survey of MBA students in the United States found that 53% worked in organizations that supported IM use (Glass & Li, 2010), while an industry survey found that 84% of responding organizations used corporate-sanctioned, or enterprise, IM (EIM) (Radicati & Hoang, 2011).…”

Managing Knowledge and Managing Knowledge Work: What we know and what the Future holds

“…Today there are many different types of social media that are used to support collaborative knowledge work, both within the firm and between the firm and its various stakeholders (e.g., Yuan et al, 2013). A specific example is the social reality application (virtual world technology) like Second Life and World of Warcraft, where the self is presented in the virtual body of an avatar -as a cyborg (Schultze and Mason, 2012).…”