The increasing complexity of organizations, together with the growing scale of information activities, puts new demands on business corporations. It is believed that investing in social values based on mutuality, trust and respect could yield long-term benefits such as corporate well-being and innovativeness. The benefits are believed to be based on better knowledge sharing, lower transaction costs due to a communicative spirit, and a greater coherence of action. However, the concept of social capital in the field of information behaviour in organizations is new and needs a more solid theoretical framework. The objective of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of how social and informative aspects are anchored to each other and to explore the mechanisms behind knowledge sharing. Possible measures and contexts for this kind of research are suggested.

Much research has been done on the favourable influence of social environment and social networks on knowledge production. The aim of this article is to design a theoretical framework where both information behaviour (IB) research and social capital (SC) research are integrated. Integrating these areas is seen as an advantage when focusing on the social construction of knowledge, and a model is proposed to illuminate sources and consequences of social capital and knowledge sharing. This framework will function as a basis on which to build when the authors proceed with a number of empirical studies involving the university context, social networks of the unemployed, and virtual networks of young people.

Studies among health professionals indicate that existing health information programmes directed to the public do not have the desired effect on people’s interest in healthier living. It is unclear to what extent the public’s lack of health knowledge and low awareness of health issues are the result of poor communication skills and difficulties in interpreting the available information. An abundant flow of information alone will not fill this knowledge gap, as knowledge is always both a personal and a mental resource. Therefore, people’s understanding and outlook must be considered in the light of their mental capacity and the characteristics of their learning process. The impact of both socioeconomic and cognitive factors on the convictions, attitudes and behaviours of the intended target groups must be taken into consideration during the planning phase of health information programmes.

This paper discusses the relationship between information culture and social capital, a phenomenon which has lately been brought forth as a decisive factor in human health and wellbeing. The phenomenon may be seen as an umbrella concept for all the advantages an individual can get from social support. It has been studied especially by researchers in social and health sciences, whereas information and communication sciences have paid considerably less attention to it, although it has implicitly been a generally accepted fact that the single individual is formed by his or her social environment. The power of the social environment and communication on the members in a collective particularly stresses the social malleability of the individual. The importance of information culture in this process is brought up for discussion in this paper.

The article reports on a project whose objectives were to analyse the social supply of health information to citizens and to study what they receive and are able to make use of. The results reveal the power, the responsibility and the rulers in and behind today’s media culture in health questions, but also the importance of people’s own active response to transmitted health messages. People who are satisfied with their own health consider it their own responsibility to be interested in health issues and to find and use health information from a great number of sources. It has been shown that the most frequently used and useful channels vary according to health problems and to cognitive and social factors. However, the awareness of different possibilities to share knowledge and to take responsibility for one’s own empowerment in health matters is symbolic of a healthier li