Antecedents of knowledge sharing in communities of practice

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Purpose – Communities of practice (CoPs) have gained a great deal of attention from practitioners and scholars alike. However, critical antecedents of knowledge sharing in CoPs have not been fully researched yet. Particularly, empirical results are still scarce. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of community members’ motivation to participate in CoPs, the importance of the community leader and the influence of management support. Design/methodology/approach – In order to test the proposed hypotheses data from 222 CoP members from different communities of a multinational company gathered in a large sample quantitative survey, using partial least square structural equations modelling. Findings – The research results show that a leading facilitator and an appropriate managerial support influence interaction processes in CoPs positively. Research limitations/implications – The impact of motivational and managerial factors on knowledge sharing processes in CoPs is conceptualized and tested. With regard to further CoP research, the developed scales may serve as a basis for future empirical studies. Furthermore, the type of knowledge handled in the CoP as well as assessments from community leaders could enhance the understanding of learning and knowledge generation in CoPs. Practical implications – New insights with respect to the management of CoPs in corporate practice, answering questions such as ‘‘What motivates people to participate in CoPs?’’ or ‘‘How to lead knowledge workers in CoPs?’’ are found. Originality/value – On the basis of a large sample empirical analysis these research results give evidence for the importance of different antecedents of interaction processes in CoPs

Virtual Collaboration in the Online Educational Setting: A Concept Analysis

This study was designed to explore the concept of virtual collaboration within the context of an online learning environment in an academic setting. Rodgers’ method of evolutionary concept analysis was used to provide a contextual view of the concept to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of virtual collaboration. Commonly used terms to describe virtual collaboration are collaborative and cooperative learning, group work, group interaction, group learning and teamwork. A constructivist pedagogy, group-based process with a shared purpose, support and web-based technology are required for virtual collaboration to take place. Consequences of virtual collaboration are higher order thinking and learning to work with others. A comprehensive definition of virtual collaboration is offered as an outcome of this analysis. Clarification of virtual collaboration prior to using it as a pedagogic tool in the online learning environment will enhance nursing education with the changes in nursing curriculum being implemented today. Further research is recommended to describe the developmental stages of the collaborative process among nursing students in online education and how virtual collaboration facilitates collaboration in practice

The antecedents of e-learning adoption within Italian corporate universities: A comparative case study

The implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in business education appears to be influenced by a number of organizational issues, such as culture and technological sophistication. However, extant research has had very little to say about the antecedents that shape the adoption and diffusion of ICT across companies. In order to shed light on the phenomenon under investigation, this paper presents a comparative case study between five Italian companies that have instituted a corporate university. By distinguishing companies in typical cases and deviant cases with regard to the extensive use of e-learning technologies, our findings provide some useful insights about the antecedents that make companies more or less prone to employ the new frontiers of technology in their CUs

Trust and reciprocity effect on electronic word-of-mouth in online review communities

Purpose Social media developments in the last decade have led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM) in the digital environment. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered by many scholars and practitioners to be the most influential informal communication mechanism between businesses and potential and actual consumers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about WOM in this new context by proposing a conceptual framework that enables a better understanding of how trust and reciprocity influence eWOM participation in ORCs. Design/methodology/approach This study applies non-probability convenience sampling technique to conduct a quantitative study of data from an online survey of 189 members of ORCs. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyse the correlations between individuals’ intention to seek opinion, to give their own opinion and to pass on the opinion of another within ORCs. Findings The data analysis reveals that opinion seeking within ORCs had a direct effect on opinion giving and opinion passing. Ability trust and integrity trust had a positive effect on opinion seeking, while benevolence trust had a direct positive effect on opinion passing. Reciprocity had a direct impact on opinion passing. While reciprocity did not affect opinion giving, the relationship between these two concepts was mediated by integrity trust. Research limitations/implications By studying the complexities that characterise the relationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM, the study extends understanding of eWOM in ORCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of only a few papers that have examined the complex interrelationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM in the context of ORCs

The FairShares Model: a communitarian pluralist approach to constituting social enterprises?

Objectives - This paper is an exploration of the intellectual antecedents and philosophical assumptions that underpin the FairShares Model - a set of brand principles and Articles of Association published by the FairShares Association. It contributes to knowledge of the history of the social enterprise movement and its link to contemporary developments in mutual social enterprises. Prior Work - Previous contributions to the literature on social economy have drawn on communitarian philosophy to develop insights into mutual principles. This paper sets out a theoretical framework to evaluate whether the FairShares Model represents a communitarian pluralist discourse on the constitution of social enterprises. Approach - In January 2013, the FairShares Association published guidance on the FairShares 'brand' and 'model' (drawing on work presented at ISBE) to develop the concept of a ‘socialised’ enterprise . The framework developed from prior work is used to assess which aspects of communitarian philosophy are emphasized in both antecedent model rules (identified by the FairShares Association) as well as the FairShares Model (v1.2a). Results - The FairShares Model is theorised as a predominantly communitarian pluralist discourse with some ‘corporatist’ commitments. It represents an evolving set of guidelines for the ‘socialisation’ of enterprise by devising membership rights for two primary stakeholders (labour, users), and two secondary stakeholders (founders, investors). It is designed to reverse the centralising and accumulating tendencies of the private sector without returning assets to state control. It differs from philanthropic models by offering co-operative (par value) shares to three member classes: founders, labour and users, and (ordinary) ‘investor’ shares to all classes of member. Implications - The FairShares Model contributes to knowledge on the 'socialisation' of enterprise by identifying core characteristics of member-owned enterprises that deploy strategies for multi stakeholder ownership, governance and management. Value – By operationalising a communitarian pluralist discourse in the process of constituting a social enterprise, the FairShares Model offers an alternative to private sector models based on the subordination of labour and mutual models based on the primacy of a single stakeholder group

Transformational Leadership and Knowledge Management: Analysing the Knowledge Management Models

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the mutual relationship between transformational leadership and knowledge management as well the potential effects of a transformational leader on his or her followers. In this paper, we review the role of transformational leadership in effective knowledge management and establish the emerging role of transformational leadership, as an ideal leadership style in building knowledge-based companies to achieve a higher degree of competitive advantage. The findings in this article are based upon previous empirical studies that illustrate the formulation of several propositions that contribute to the knowledge management processes. Our findings are based upon possible scenarios that impact transformational leadership and knowledge management using grounded theoretical research. Research limitations are twofold. One limitation is found in the prior literature indicating that past studies have posited that companies might lack the required capabilities or decide to decline from interacting with other companies (Caldwell & Ancona 1988), or even distrust sharing their knowledge (Kraut & Streeter 1995). And, second, our contribution to the literature lies in presenting a link between knowledge management and transformational leadership that incorporates the knowledge management processes that may impact the effectiveness of transformational leaders to enhance their capabilities to effectively play their roles within companies. In addition, managerial applications that may support knowledge management processes are proposed further research is necessary to finalise conclusions. The original value of this research provides an impetus of mutual interaction of knowledge management and transformational leadership

What can management theories offer evidence-based practice? A comparative analysis of measurement tools for organisational context

Background: Given the current emphasis on networks as vehicles for innovation and change in health service delivery, the ability to conceptualise and measure organisational enablers for the social construction of knowledge merits attention. This study aimed to develop a composite tool to measure the organisational context for evidence-based practice (EBP) in healthcare. Methods: A structured search of the major healthcare and management databases for measurement tools from four domains: research utilisation (RU), research activity (RA), knowledge management (KM), and organisational learning (OL). Included studies were reports of the development or use of measurement tools that included organisational factors. Tools were appraised for face and content validity, plus development and testing methods. Measurement tool items were extracted, merged across the four domains, and categorised within a constructed framework describing the absorptive and receptive capacities of organisations. Results: Thirty measurement tools were identified and appraised. Eighteen tools from the four domains were selected for item extraction and analysis. The constructed framework consists of seven categories relating to three core organisational attributes of vision, leadership, and a learning culture, and four stages of knowledge need, acquisition of new knowledge, knowledge sharing, and knowledge use. Measurement tools from RA or RU domains had more items relating to the categories of leadership, and acquisition of new knowledge; while tools from KM or learning organisation domains had more items relating to vision, learning culture, knowledge need, and knowledge sharing. There was equal emphasis on knowledge use in the different domains. Conclusion: If the translation of evidence into knowledge is viewed as socially mediated, tools to measure the organisational context of EBP in healthcare could be enhanced by consideration of related concepts from the organisational and management sciences. Comparison of measurement tools across domains suggests that there is scope within EBP for supplementing the current emphasis on human and technical resources to support information uptake and use by individuals. Consideration of measurement tools from the fields of KM and OL shows more content related to social mechanisms to facilitate knowledge recognition, translation, and transfer between individuals and groups

Learners’ continuance participation intention of collaborative group project in virtual learning environment: an extended TAM perspective

The aim of this study is to explore learners’ intention to return to the electronic environment through the use of wikipages. The survey is based on students’ participation in a collaborative group project over a one semester course on business information systems. A research model based on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been proposed to investigate what factors will influence learners’ continuance participation in the electronic learning environment. 75% of students returned the questionnaire and the data analysis results based on the extended TAM Shows that the learners’ intention to return to the electronic learning environment was highly associated with their attitude towards the electronic learning tool and the affection associated with the tool