Knowledge Sharing in Online Communities: Learning to Cross Geographic and Hierarchical Boundaries
Hwang EH, Singh PV, Argote L (2015) Knowledge Sharing in Online Communities: Learning to Cross Geographic and Hierarchical Boundaries. Organization Science 26(6):1593–1611.
45 Pages Posted: 12 Jan 2012 Last revised: 22 Sep 2021
Date Written: January 13, 2012
Abstract
Many organizations have launched online knowledge-exchanging communities to promote knowledge sharing among their employees. We empirically examine the dynamics of knowledge sharing in an organization-hosted knowledge forum. Although previous researchers have suggested that geographic and social boundaries disappear online, we hypothesize that they remain because participants prefer to share knowledge with others who share similar attributes, due to the challenges involved in knowledge sharing in an online community. Further, we propose that as participants acquire experience in exchanging knowledge, they learn to rely more on expertise similarity and less on categorical similarities, such as location or hierarchical status. As a result, boundaries based on categorical attributes are expected to weaken, and boundaries based on expertise are expected to strengthen, as participants gain experience in the online community. Empirical support for this argument is obtained from analyzing a longitudinal dataset of an internal online knowledge community at a large multinational IT consulting firm.
Keywords: knowledge sharing; online knowledge communities; experiential learning; interpersonal similarity; common ground
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