The Missing Element of Knowledge Management: Social Computing

2015

This research enquires into how social networking technologies can help knowledge creation and sharing in IT-based knowledge management systems. Social networking technologies have changed the way people connect and collaborate allowing users to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers alike. Despite technology having been used in a variety of ways to support knowledge management systems, the use of social networking technology has been little explored. The famous SECI model highlights socialisation as an important aspect in transferring knowledge, yet IT-based knowledge management systems seem to miss out on this element. This research argues that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology bridges this gap. Social software is becoming part of a commonplace set of tools available for organisations that may help IT-based knowledge management systems. Evidence is presented from a case study conducted in practice at an organisa...

The growing phenomenon of Social Software seems to provide an opportunity to complement the top-down approach based on central knowledge repositories with tools that are simpler, smarter and more flexible. This article in- cludes a brief description of the main categories of Social Software - weblogs, wikis and social networking sites - fol- lowed by an analysis of their utilisation in relation to the five core Knowledge Management activities of the Knowledge Management taxonomy proposed by Despres & Chauvel in 1999. Examples that illustrate the support Social Software could provide for knowledge management are presented. Finally, some of the problems that hinder the usage of Social Software tools, together with some of the latest developments and trends in the field are mentioned.

Organizational Models and Enterprise Strategies, 2012

This chapter gives a brief introduction to Knowledge Management (KM) and its components, emphasizing the role Social Networks (SNs) can play on KM. The authors will delineate the benefits of collaboration between the concept of Social Networking and the process of KM. With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, it is a natural evolutionary outcome that SNs have driven the advancement of KM, and conversely KM has driven the advancement of SNs. In certain instances, SNs and KM have a symbiotic relationship whereby one cannot exist without the other. Moreover, an impact analysis will be performed to show that while SNs are an outcome of KM, both require each other in order to succeed where Social Software fits. This chapter is particularly intended to cater to the needs of librarians in a corporate environment and to show the impact and benefits of SNs and KM in the information world.

2008

This paper aims to investigate the role of social networking for knowledge management in organizations that use social networks for communication and collaboration among organizations member. Based on previous literatures this paper explains major issues relating to knowledge management and social networks and its role in successful adoption of knowledge management system. The main finding of this paper is that using social networking play role in knowledge sharing, transformation and collaboration among organization members.

2008

Disintegrated channel of communication among knowledge workers (K-workers) within an organization may lead to an ineffective communication; hence, resulting in misinterpretation, miscommunication or intended messages do not get delivered properly. Currently, K-workers communicate mostly through face-to-face meetings, telephones, or emails. The disadvantages of these channels of communication include messages are not captured appropriately or information is unavailable when needed. Through such knowledge management (KM) enablers as wikis, blogs, and communities of practice (COP), a variety of channel of communication can be supported. However, having the KM enablers alone are insufficient because combinations of right mindset, trust, communication style are equally essential for K-workers who have common interests to share their knowledge, insights and experiences effectively. This paper aims at developing a framework on the vitality of having these blended components towards the future of effective social networking among K-workers. On macro perspective, the paper contributes on nurturing environment that can potentially produce intangible external results to an organization.

2006

The growing phenomenon of Social Software seems to provide an opportunity to complement the top-down approach based on central knowledge repositories with tools that are simpler, smarter and more flexible.

Social networks have gained large popularity in the last few years and successfully entered the private life of the internet savvy people providing them new tools for entertainment, sharing pictures and information, for communication, etc. At the same time, Web 2.0 is offering many opportunities to public and private organizations worldwide to collect feedback from their customers, ideas and knowledge from on-line communities or more generally take advantage from 'the wisdom of the crowd'. Due to their popularity, social networks have become useful tools in various management activities and have provided many gains to people, who are using them. Knowledge management could avail itself also on social networks in the analyses of the relationships between employees, and the identification of knowledge flows. At the same time, people use various channels and models for communication and exchange of information and ideas. Here, social networks have a lot to offer and their wider utilization for various knowledge management processes could be further explored. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the usage of social networks in knowledge management and the advantages that could be taken by using them. Initially, the authors focus on the theoretical aspects of social networks and their role in knowledge management. Subsequently, some ideas are presented for the application of social networks in different knowledge management processes, e.g. knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, knowledge evaluation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge collaboration, etc. Finally, the authors consider possible benefits from the point of view of the social network's users and their organization.

Social media is no longer a negligible phenomenon; tools like Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube have taken the world in a storm. Social media has become a mainstream, modified personal relationships, allowed individuals to contribute to number of issues and generated new possibilities and challenges to facilitate collaboration. Organizations have urgent need of not only focusing on innovation of new products and services, but also paying specific attention to effective knowledge sharing, which is of vital importance for their success. The potential advantage of embracing and implementing social media is enormous. Although the interest in social media is increasing, on the one hand knowledge workers and managers are waiting to get involved in this collaborative world, because they may not feel motivated or may not be aware of the advantages of using these tools for work purposes. On the other hand, organizations do not tend to allow their employees to use social media technologies because they may be concerned about the risks and consequences of a potential misuse. Our exploratory survey investigates how internal or external social media technologies are being used for knowledge sharing during work or for professional development. The study was accomplished with the help of enterprises and institutions operating in Hungary from profit and non-profit sectors, applying quantitative research methods. In total 299 individuals participated by completing the online, web-based questionnaire. The results have shown that Hungarian organizations prefer not to allow the usage of external social media; but where the employees are supported to reach these tools, high proportion of the people utilize them. The paper provides recommendations to the organizations how to foster motivating employees for using social media technologies for work purposes in knowledge sharing. In the discussion, a short summary of our study, managerial implications and new research direction are presented.

In order to survive and sustain, organisations need to find ways of managing both tacit and explicit knowledge. The emergence of social media has made it possible to better manage knowledge in organisations (Pawlowski & Pirkkalainen, 2012). Social media enables organisations to connect both internally and externally, and its widespread popularity provides many opportunities for managing knowledge. Hence, harnessing social media as a knowledge management tool has become vital. As we witness a global surge in the usage of social media (Chugh, 2012), it is important that organisations tap into this resource and leverage it for managing knowledge and not solely as a means of day-to-day communication with customers. Social media can potentially make the management of knowledge a less cumbersome facet (Razmerita, Kirchner & Nabeth, 2014) of routine operations. As social media continues to evolve, it brings new opportunities for knowledge management and it is important to tap into this resource. Link: http://www.igi-global.com/pdf.aspx?tid=159457&ptid=147017&ctid=15&t=preface

SOTICS 2013, The Third International Conference on Social Eco-Informatics, 2013

Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private individuals and employees. Sharing and communication through this medium has become, for many, a daily habit. Many of these networks provide a simple way to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers. Information technology has been used in many ways to support knowledge management initiatives. However the use of social networking technology has been little explored. It is thus argued that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology would bridge this gap. Social software is becoming part of a standard arsenal of tools deployed within companies, tools that may help knowledge management. Evidence is presented from a review of relevant literature and through a survey, conducted via online social networks, asking respondents’ usage of social networking for knowledge management purposes in both their private lives and also work-related practices. It shows that personal networks are often used as a medium to seek knowledge for personal and for organisational motives. The results confirm that online social networks, and their enterprise counterparts, are aiding knowledge management initiatives. Knowledge appears to be flowing through online social networks. Findings also include the confirmation of Dunbar’s number, and reaffirming the strength of “weak ties” as originally proposed by Granovetter. The paper proposes the new concept of temporary ties that are aided through social networks. It also describes the work in progress and findings so far on the use of social networking technology and habits for aiding knowledge management initiatives.