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Motivation and barriers to participation in virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice

Motivation and barriers to participation in virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice This paper reports the results of a qualitative study of motivation and barriers to employee participation in virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100, multinational corporation. The study indicates that, when employees view knowledge as a public good belonging to the whole organization, knowledge flows easily. However, even when individuals give the highest priority to the interests of the organization and of their community, they tend to shy away from contributing knowledge for a variety of reasons. Specifically, employees hesitate to contribute out of fear of criticism, or of misleading the community members (not being sure that their contributions are important, or completely accurate, or relevant to a specific discussion). To remove the identified barriers, there is a need for developing various types of trust, ranging from the knowledge‐based to the institution‐based trust. Future research directions and implications for KM practitioners are formulated. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Knowledge Management Emerald Publishing

Motivation and barriers to participation in virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 MCB UP Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1367-3270
DOI
10.1108/13673270310463626
Publisher site
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Abstract

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study of motivation and barriers to employee participation in virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100, multinational corporation. The study indicates that, when employees view knowledge as a public good belonging to the whole organization, knowledge flows easily. However, even when individuals give the highest priority to the interests of the organization and of their community, they tend to shy away from contributing knowledge for a variety of reasons. Specifically, employees hesitate to contribute out of fear of criticism, or of misleading the community members (not being sure that their contributions are important, or completely accurate, or relevant to a specific discussion). To remove the identified barriers, there is a need for developing various types of trust, ranging from the knowledge‐based to the institution‐based trust. Future research directions and implications for KM practitioners are formulated.

Journal

Journal of Knowledge Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 1, 2003

Keywords: Communities of practice; Knowledge management; Trust

References

  • Market, hierarchy, and trust: the knowledge economy and the future of capitalism
    Adler, P.
  • Knowing and learning as networking
    Araujo, L.
  • Beyond social capital: how social skills can enhance entrepreneurs’ success
    Baron, R.A; Markman, G.D
  • Organizational learning and communities of practice
    Brown, J.S.; Duguid, P.