Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.1633/JISTaP.2017.5.3.1

Individual, social, and cultural approaches to knowledge sharing  

Widen, Gunilla (Information Studies, Abo Akademi University)
Publication Information
Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice / v.5, no.3, 2017 , pp. 6-14 More about this Journal
Abstract
Workplace knowledge sharing is a complex process and there are a large number of studies in the area. In this article three theoretical approaches in library and information science are used to discuss knowledge sharing in the workplace. The approaches are information behavior, social capital, and information culture, and they bring important insights that need to be considered from a holistic management point of view when it comes to knowledge sharing. The individual's relation to different levels of context is important, meaning both in relation to work roles, work tasks, situations, organizational structures, and culture. The frameworks also shed light on where and how knowledge sharing activities are present in the organization. From a knowledge management point of view, it is important to acknowledge that when knowledge is valued, there is also an awareness of the knowledge sharing activities. Also, in addition to more traditional views of context, the frameworks bring forward different views on context, such as time and space as contextual factors.
Keywords
Knowledge sharing; information behavior; social capital; information culture; workplace information practices;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Cool, C. (2001). The concept of situation in information science. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 35, 5-42.
2 Curry, A., & Moore, C. (2003). Assessing information culture-an exploratory model. International Journal of Information Management, 23(2), 91-110.   DOI
3 Cyr, S., & Choo, C. W. (2010). The individual and social dynamics of knowledge sharing: An exploratory study. Journal of Documentation, 66(6), 824-846.   DOI
4 Dalkir, K. (2010). Knowledge management. In Encyclopedia of library and information sciences (3rd ed.) (pp. 3129-3138). London: Taylor & Francis.
5 Dalkir, K. (2011). Knowledge management in theory and practice (2nd ed.). Cambridge: MIT Press.
6 Detlor, B. (2010). Information management. Encyclopedia of library and information sciences (pp. 2445-2451). London: Taylor & Francis.
7 Ellis, D. (1989). A behavioral approach to information retrieval design. Journal of Documentation, 45, 171-212.   DOI
8 Foster, A. (2004). A nonlinear model of information-seeking behavior. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 55(3), 228-237.   DOI
9 Ginman, M. (1988). Information culture and business performance. IATUL Quarterly, 2(2), 93-106.
10 Greifeneder, E. (2014). Trends in information behavior research. In Proceedings of ISIC, the Information Behavior Conference, Leeds, September 2-5: Part 1 (paper isic13). Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/19-4/isic/isic13.html
11 Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services (2nd ed.). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
12 Leckie, G. J., Pettigrew, K. E., & Sylvain, C. (1996). Modeling the information seeking of professionals: A general model derived from research on engineers, health care professionals, and lawyers. The Library Quarterly, 66(2), 161-193.   DOI
13 Li, Y., & Ye, F. (2013). Social capital, information sharing and performance: Evidence from China. International Journal of Operation & Production Management, 34(11), 1440-1462.
14 Mckenzie, M. L. (2005). Managers look to the social network to seek information. Information Research, 10(2), paper 216. Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/10-2/paper216.html
15 Marchionini, M. (1995). Information seeking in electronic environments. New York: Cambridge UP.
16 Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organisational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709-734.   DOI
17 Nilsen, P., Nordstrom (Avby), G., & Ellstrom, P. (2012). Integrating research-based and practice-based knowledge through workplace reflection. Journal of Workplace Learning, 24(6), 403-415.   DOI
18 Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge creating company. New York: Oxford UP.
19 Oliver, G. (2008). Information culture: Exploration of differing values and attitudes to information in organisations. Journal of Documentation, 64(3), 363-385.   DOI
20 Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1-24.   DOI
21 Saracevic, T. (1996). Relevance reconsidered. In Information science: Integration in Perspectives. Proceedings of the Second Conference on Concepts in Library and Information Science (CoLIS2), Copenhagen, October 14-17 (pp. 201-218).
22 Savolainen, R. (1995). Everyday life information seeking. Approaching information seeking in the context of "way of life." Library and Information Science Research, 17, 259-294.   DOI
23 Savolainen, R. (2008). Everyday information practices. A social phenomenological perspective. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
24 Solomon, P. (2002). Discovering information in context. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 36, 229-264.
25 Styhre, A. (2008). The role of social capital in knowledge sharing: The case of a specialist rock construction company. Construction Management and Economics, 26(9), 941-951.   DOI
26 Travica, B. (2005). Information politics and information culture: A case study. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 8, 211-244.   DOI
27 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. M. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston: Harvard Business School.
28 Widen, G., Steinerova, J., & Voisey, P. (2014). Conceptual modelling of workplace information practices: A literature review. In Proceedings of ISIC, the Information Behavior Conference, Leeds, September 2-5: Part 1 (paper isic08). Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/19-4/isic/isic08.html
29 Widen-Wulff. G. (2007). The challenges of knowledge sharing in practice: A social approach. Oxford: Chandos.
30 Widen-Wulff, G., & Davenport, E. (2005). Information sharing and timing: Findings in two Finnish organizations. In F. Crestani and I. Ruthven (Eds.), Context: Nature, impact, and role. Berlin: Springer (LNCS 3507).
31 Widen-Wulff, G., & Ginman, M. (2004). Explaining knowledge sharing in organizations through the dimensions of social capital. Journal of Information Science, 30(5), 448-458.   DOI
32 Wilson, T. D. (1981). On user studies and information needs. Journal of Documentation, 37, 3-15.   DOI
33 Wilson, T. D. (1999). Models in information behavior research. Journal of Documentation, 55(3), 249-270.   DOI
34 Wright, T. (2013). Information culture in a government organization. Records Management Journal, 23(1), 14-36.   DOI
35 Wilson, T. D. (1997). Information behavior: An interdisciplinary perspective. Information Processing and Management, 33(4), 551-572.   DOI
36 Hazleton, V., & Kennan, W. (2000). Social capital: Reconceptualizing the bottom line. Corporate Communications, 5(2), 81-86.   DOI
37 Bystrom, K., & Jarvelin, K. (1995). Task complexity affects information seeking and use. Information Processing & Management, 31, 191-213.   DOI
38 Choo, C. W. (2006). The knowing organization (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford U.P.
39 Choo, C. W., Bergeron, P., Detlor, B., & Heaton, L. (2008). Information culture and information use: An exploratory study of three organizations. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(5), 792-804.   DOI
40 Hall, H., & Widen-Wulff, G. (2008). Social exchange, social capital and information sharing in online environments: Lessons from three case studies. In M. Huotari & E. Davenport (Eds.), From information provision to knowledge production. Proceedings of the international conference for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Information Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, Finland, June 23-25 (pp. 73-86). Oulu: University of Oulu.
41 Huvila, I., Ek, S., & Widen, G. (2014). Information sharing and the dimensions of social capital in Second Life. Journal of Information Science, 40(2), 237-248.   DOI
42 Ingwersen, P. (1996). Cognitive perspectives of information retrieval interaction: Elements of a cognitive IR theory. Journal of Documentation, 52, 3-50.   DOI
43 Ingwersen, P., & Jarvelin, K. (2005). The turn: Integration of information seeking and retrieval in context. Dordrecht: Springer.
44 Johnson, A. M. (2003). Library instruction and information literacy. Reference Services Review, 31(4), pp. 385-418.   DOI
45 Johnson, C. (2015). Social capital and library and information science research: Definitional chaos or coherent research enterprise? Information Research, 20(4), paper 690. Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/20-4/paper690.html
46 Jarvelin, K., & Wilson, T. D. (2003). On conceptual models for information seeking and retrieval research. Information Research, 9(1). Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/9-1/paper163.html
47 Kuhlthau, C. C. (1993). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.