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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Hazel HallSenior LecturerSchool of ComputingNapier University, Edinburgh
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Does social capital drive knowledge management?
Research literature
Practice as reported in professional press
Consultancy work
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
How can this be explored in a robust way for a doctoral dissertation?
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
How can this be explored in a robust way for a doctoral dissertation?
Investigate a knowledge intensive organisation with a track record in KM
Use an academic theoretical framework to design research instruments
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
“Social exchange for knowledge exchange”, OKLC 2001, Leicester
Discussion centred on theoretical framework
• Exchange theories in general• Social exchange theory in particular• Treatment of social exchange theory in information science (e.g.
scholarly communication, citations and acknowledgements as gifts, information sharing across networks)
… and plans for primary data collection for doctoral research
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Exchange theories
• Actors • Resources• Structures• Processes
Social exchange theory
peoplewhat people valuedependent relationshipsinteractions, opportunities
Few instances of information/knowledge treated as exchange resources
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Evolution of research question
Can social exchange theory be extended to knowledge sharing practice over intranets within large
distributed organisations?
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Evolution of research question
Can social exchange theory be extended to knowledge sharing practice over intranets within large
distributed organisations?
Incentives to generate exchange
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards Conditions
Critical massSoft
Hard
Communities
Status
Responsibilities
Infrastructure
Articulation
Usability
Boundary objects
Incentives for knowledge exchange (literature review)
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards Conditions Infrastructure
To jump start knowledge sharing
For long-term compliance To help new members of staff
For distributed staff
For cross-team working
For wide dissemination
For “community” benefits
To encourage experimentation
To match “expectations” of personality types
To promote moral obligation
to knowledge as a public good
Move from knowledge as a private good
with appropriate support
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Company identified
• large • multi-national• distributed• information intensive• intranet dependent
Primary data collection October - December 2001
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Possible data subjects
• Knowledge Managers• Web Site Managers • UK-based• represent company’s lines
of business, functions and infrastructure groupings
Company identified
• large • multi-national• distributed• information intensive• intranet dependent
Primary data collection October - December 2001
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards Conditions Infrastructure
Schedule for semi-structured interviews
Snowball technique
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Full set of data
• 20 transcripts• 14 Knowledge Managers• 6 Web Site Managers• 50:50 gender split• represent company’s lines
of business, functions and infrastructure groupings
Preliminary data analysis
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Partial set of data
• 10 transcripts• 7 Knowledge Managers • 3 Web Site Managers• 50:50 gender split• represent company’s lines
of business, functions and infrastructure groupings
Full set of data
• 20 transcripts• 14 Knowledge Managers• 6 Web Site Managers• 50:50 gender split• represent company’s lines
of business, functions and infrastructure groupings
Preliminary data analysis
Data analysis to date limited to a sub-set of data
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards Conditions
Critical massSoft
Hard
Communities
Status
Responsibilities
Infrastructure
Articulation
Usability
Boundary objects
Data analysis to date limited to one main theme
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Goals of preliminary data analysis
• To understand perceptions of:– nature and degree of knowledge sharing in company– barriers to knowledge sharing in company– roles of rewards for knowledge sharing in company
• Relate findings to the concepts of the knowledge market and exchanges
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Nature and degree of knowledge sharing in company
Value recognised
Concerns over buy-in
Economic
For staff, e.g morale, retention
Mission statement
Knowledge sharing as job requirement
TrainingInvestment
Concerns over interest in codification
Senior management support
ImpossibleOverload
Effort required to extract content
Sharing = intranet input
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Concerns over buy-in
Nature and degree of knowledge sharing in company
Value recognisedEconomic
For staff, e.g morale, retention
Mission statement
Knowledge sharing as job requirement
InvestmentTraining
Concerns over interest in codification
Senior management support
ImpossibleOverload
Effort required to extract content
Sharing = intranet input
TENSIO
N
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Barriers to knowledge sharing
Treatment of information & knowledge as assets
Relationships
Use of systems
Organisational interest
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Barriers to knowledge sharing
Treatment of information & knowledge as assets
Relationships
Use of systems
Organisational interest
“confidential” information, “bad” news,intellectual property, assets unrecognised
difficulties in making/keeping friends
system under-use, cliques, alternative means of meeting needs
lack of buy-in, confusion IM/KM, company priorities
Examples in tables 3-5
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Barriers to knowledge sharing
Treatment of information & knowledge as assets
Certain assets not traded
Restrictions on trade of certain goods
Relationships
Lack of trading partners
Barriers between markets & traders
Use of systems
Grey, black & alternative economies
Lack of market infrastructure in official economy
Organisational interest
Inappropriate regulatory frameworks
Lack of market intervention
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Barriers to knowledge sharing
Treatment of information & knowledge as assets
Certain assets not traded
Restrictions on trade of certain goods
Relationships
Lack of trading partners
Barriers between markets & traders
Use of systems
Grey, black & alternative economies
Lack of market infrastructure in official economy
Organisational interest
Inappropriate regulatory frameworks
Lack of market intervention
Support of exchange structures
Exchange resources
Exchange actors & support of exchange structures
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards
Soft
Hard
Economic & career gains
Access to information and knowledge
Enhanced reputation &personal satisfaction
Roles of rewards for knowledge sharing
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards
Soft
Hard
Economic & career gains
Access to information and knowledge
Enhanced reputation &personal satisfaction
Roles of rewards for knowledge sharing
Too difficult to implement & measure (problems setting up market)More effective routes to such resources exist (other markets)Trades description problems
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards
Soft
Hard
Economic & career gains
Access to information and knowledge
Enhanced reputation &personal satisfaction
Roles of rewards for knowledge sharing
Vocabulary of exchangeResource under-valued: opportunities for free-ridingDifferent interpretations of bargain lead to quality issues - nagging, charitable donationsEconomy does not value this currency
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Incentives for knowledge sharing
Rewards
Soft
Hard
Economic & career gains
Access to information and knowledge
Enhanced reputation &personal satisfaction
Roles of rewards for knowledge sharing
Acknowledged & employed by KM staff - indirect tie to economic & career gainsPersonal satisfaction as incidental
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Analysis to date
• Findings articulate with previous studies: intentions of designers of systems to promote knowledge sharing are rarely realised in implementation.
• There is limited evidence of social exchange in knowledge markets: parallels with exchange theory are more easily drawn. (However data collected on enabling conditions and infrastructure is yet to be analysed. Indications are that social infrastructure will be a significant factor.)
• Means of implementation may assume greater importance in later analysis - focus on codification, interpretations of “knowledge sharing”.
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Analysis to date
• Findings articulate with previous studies: intentions of designers of systems to promote knowledge sharing are rarely realised in implementation.
• There is limited evidence of social exchange in knowledge markets: parallels with exchange theory are more easily drawn. (However data collected on enabling conditions and infrastructure is yet to be analysed. Indications are that social infrastructure will be a significant factor.)
• Means of implementation may assume greater importance in later analysis - focus on codification, interpretations of “knowledge sharing”.
30
Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Analysis to date
• Findings articulate with previous studies: intentions of designers of systems to promote knowledge sharing are rarely realised in implementation.
• There is limited evidence of social exchange in knowledge markets: parallels with exchange theory are more easily drawn. (However data collected on enabling conditions and infrastructure is yet to be analysed. Indications are that social infrastructure will be a significant factor.)
• Means of implementation may assume greater importance in later analysis - focus on codification, interpretations of “knowledge sharing”.
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Sharing capability: the development of a framework to investigate knowledge sharing in distributed organisations
Related workDavenport, E. & Hall, H. (2001). New knowledge and micro-level online
organization: 'communities of practice' as a development framework. In R. Sprague (Ed.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (CD ROM). Los Alamitos: IEEE.
Davenport E. & Hall, H. (2002). Organizational knowledge and communities of practice. In B. Cronin & D, Shaw (Eds.). Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (pp. 171-227). Medford NJ: Information Today.
Hall, H. (2001). Input-friendliness: motivating knowledge sharing across intranets. Journal of Information Science 27(2), 139-146.
Hall, H. (2001). Social exchange for knowledge exchange. Paper presented at the International Conference on Managing Knowledge, University of Leicester, April 10-11 2001. [http://www.bim.napier.ac.uk/esis/about_us/hazel_publications.html]