Social media are increasingly implemented in work organizations as tools for communication among employees. It is important that we develop an understanding of howThe purpose of this article is to explore, at this early date, what consequences-positive and negative-social media used for communication and interaction within the workplace may have for those sociotechnical systems we call organizations. Enterprise social media (a term we define and explain below) are distinct from traditional communication technologies often used in today's organizations because those who use them can see conversations occurring between others in the organization who are not their communication partners and can distinguish social and work related connections among them.

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Ignoring the informal, non-canonical nature of knowledge sharing, including people's motivation, ability and opportunity to share knowledge, is one of the key causes of resistance to use knowledge sharing tools. In order to improve knowledge sharing supported by information technology (IT), tools need to be embedded in the social networks of which it is part. This has implications for our knowledge on the design requirements of such socially embedded IT. The paper reviews tools that are designed to foster social capital. We will then discuss what is needed for a IS design theory related to knowledge communities and how such a theory could incorporate social capital theory.IT to Support Knowledge Sharing in Communities; Towards a Social Capital Analysis Abstract Ignoring the informal, non-canonical nature of knowledge sharing, including people's motivation, ability and opportunity to share knowledge, is one of the key causes of resistance to use knowledge sharing tools. In order to improve knowledge sharing supported by information technology (IT), tools need to be embedded in the social networks of which it is part. This has implications for our knowledge on the design requirements of such socially embedded IT. The paper reviews tools that are designed for the purpose to foster social capital.We will then discuss what is needed for a IS design theory related to knowledge communities and how such a theory could incorporate social capital theory.

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Intra-organizational networks of practice (NOPs) confront managers with a dilemma: they must manage NOPs to reap benefits from integrating geographically dispersed knowledge, but the inherently emergent nature of NOPs implies that management control may frustrate practice-related knowledge to be shared. Based on a case study of 22 NOPs in a geographically dispersed development organization ('TDO'), we develop a model that disentangles the dynamics underlying this dilemma, helping to better understand it. Specifically, four dynamic relationships are interrelated and involve four kinds of embeddedness (organizational, in practice, relational, and structural) that relate dynamically to knowledge sharing in NOPs. Interventions in both the content shared in the network and the connections among network members can influence each of these relations. This study contributes to theoretical and practical understanding of how to manage NOPs without killing them.