Content clutter and enterprise social media: a case study

A single case study of the UK subsidiary of a multinational corporation (Colpal) that currently utilizes enterprise social media technology to share organisational knowledge has revealed an emergent theme. The relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital and organisational leadership were found to play important influencing roles for knowledge sharing within the organisation’s virtual communities. However, a new theme emerged from the case suggesting that the affordance of persistence offered by social media technology can actually hinder knowledge sharing once content reaches a certain level. Labelled as content clutter, it concerns the phenomenon whereby the amount of knowledge content becomes sufficient to discourage future knowledge sharing. As an organisation’s use of enterprise social media starts to mature, these findings serve as a starting point for future research concerned with how to effectively manage knowledge content in virtual communities in a way that encourages effective knowledge sharing

Comunicação digital no trabalho: média sociais empresariais e o uso do Slack

Tendo em conta a crescente presença dos média sociais empresariais, com diversas ferramentas deste tipo prometendo deixar os fluxos de comunicação interna mais eficientes através do acesso mais rápido aos colegas de trabalho e discussões mais pragmáticas, esta investigação pretende analisar os impactos que o uso destas ferramentas pode ter na comunicação interna, algo que ainda não é claro. A partir do caso do Slack, que se tornou a principal ferramenta no mercado após um rápido crescimento nos últimos anos, pretende-se observar como os média sociais empresariais podem influenciar na partilha de conhecimento, na socialização, no capital social, nas relações de poder e na eficiência da comunicação interna. Após doze entrevistas qualitativas com funcionários de quatro empresas que utilizam o Slack nas suas rotinas em Portugal e no Brasil, os resultados mostram que há uma clara percepção de que a ferramenta torna a comunicação mais eficiente. Há um estímulo indireto no aumento da socialização entre os colegas de trabalho, além de uma maior partilha de conhecimento nas equipes. Não se observa mudanças visíveis nas relações de poder entre os funcionários e seus superiores, porém fica claro que o Slack torna os colegas muito mais acessíveis e as discussões mais pragmáticas. O estudo mostra também que, além de preencher uma lacuna na comunicação interna das empresas, há um grande potencial para o crescimento e aprimoramento dos média sociais empresariais.Given the increasing presence of enterprise social media, with several tools of such promising to make internal communication flows more efficient through faster access to co-workers and more pragmatic discussions, this research aims to analyse the impacts that the use of these tools may have in the internal communication, something that is not yet clear. From the Slack case, which has become the main tool in the market after a rapid growth in recent years, it is intended to observe how enterprise social media may influence in the knowledge sharing, the socialization, the social capital, the relations of power and the efficiency of internal communication. After twelve qualitative interviews with employees of four companies that use Slack in their routines in Portugal and Brazil, the results show that there is a clear perception that the tool makes communication more efficient. There is an indirect stimulus in the increase of socialization among co-workers in addition to greater knowledge sharing within the teams. No visible changes are observed in the power relations between employees and their superiors, but it is clear that Slack does make colleagues much more accessible and the discussions more pragmatic. The study also shows that, besides filling a gap in the internal communication of the companies, there is great potential for the growth and improvement of enterprise social media

How to promote informal learning in the workplace? The need for incremental design methods

Informal Learning in the Workplace (ILW) is ensured by the everyday work activities in which workers are engaged. It accounts for over 75 per cent of learning in the workplace. Enterprise Social Media (ESM) are increasingly used as informal learning environments. According to the results of an implementation we have conducted in real context, we show that ESM are appropriate to promote ILW. Nevertheless, social aspects must be reconsidered to address users' needs regarding content and access, quality information indicators, moderation and control

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

Effective risk governance for environmental policy making: a knowledge management perspective

Effective risk management within environmental policy making requires knowledge on natural, economic and social systems to be integrated; knowledge characterised by complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity. We describe a case study in a (UK) central government department exploring how risk governance supports and hinders this challenging integration of knowledge. Forty-five semi-structured interviews were completed over a two year period. We found that lateral knowledge transfer between teams working on different policy areas was widely viewed as a key source of knowledge. However, the process of lateral knowledge transfer was predominantly informal and unsupported by risk governance structures. We argue this made decision quality vulnerable to a loss of knowledge through staff turnover, and time and resource pressures. Our conclusion is that the predominant form of risk governance framework, with its focus on centralised decision-making and vertical knowledge transfer is insufficient to support risk-based, environmental policy making. We discuss how risk governance can better support environmental policy makers through systematic knowledge management practices

An introduction to STRIKE : STRuctured Interpretation of the Knowledge Environment

Knowledge forms a critical part of the income generation of the system and the complex environment in which actors participate in the creation of knowledge assets merits robust, eclectic consideration. STRIKE - STRuctured Interpretation of the Knowledge Environment affords an unobtrusive and systematic framework to observe, record, evaluate and articulate concrete and abstract elements of a setting, across internal and external dimensions. Inter-relationships between actor and environment are preserved. STRIKE is supported by underlying techniques to enrich data and enhance the authenticity of its representation. Adoption of photography and videography tools provides illustrative and interpretive benefits and facilitates researcher reflexivity. This structured approach to data analysis and evaluation mitigates criticisms of methodological rigour in observational research and affords standardisation potential, germane for application in a verification or longitudinal capacity. Advancing exploratory validation studies, the method is employed to evaluate the knowledge environments of two enterprises in the UK creative sector. These occupy a critical role in fostering entrepreneurial innovation alongside participant self-efficacy. Access Space in Sheffield and the Bristol Hackspace are committed to open software, open knowledge and open participation; sharing peer learning, creativity and socio-technical aims to address broadly similar community needs. Drawing on Wittgenstein’s Picture Theory of Meaning, the knowledge management perspective is abstracted from the STRIKE assessment. It is argued that the tiered analytical approach which considers a breadth of dimensions enhances representation and interpretation of the knowledge environment and presents a diagnostic and prescriptive capability to actualise change. The paper concludes by evaluating framework effectiveness, findings application and future direction