Communities of Practice Approach for Knowledge Management Systems

Abstract

In this digital world, organisations are facing global competition as well as manpower pressures leading towards the knowledge economy, which heavily impacts on their local and international businesses. The trend is to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing to cope with these problems. With the advancement of technologies and social engineering that can connect people in the virtual world across time and distance, several organisations are embarking on knowledge management (KM) systems, implementing a community of practice (CoP) approach. However, virtual communities are relatively new paradigms, and there are several challenges to their successful implementation from an organisation’s point of interest. There is lack of CoP implementation framework that can cater to today’s dynamic business and sustainability requirements. To fill the gap in literature, this paper develops a practical framework for a CoP implementation with a view to align KM strategy with business strategy of an organization. It explores the different steps of building, sharing, and using tacit and explicit knowledge in CoPs by applying the Wiig KM cycle. It proposes a practical CoP implementation framework that adopts the Benefits, Tools, Organisation, People and Process (BTOPP) model in addressing the key questions surrounding each of the BTOPP elements with a structured approach. Finally, it identifies key challenges such as organizational culture and performance measurements, and provides practical recommendations to overcome them for a successful CoP implementation.

Sharing is caring: an analysis of #FOAMed Twitter posts during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In particular, by exploring the extent to which its content aligns with the knowledge management theory, it offers an opportunity to examine whether or not it operates as an established knowledge management system. This study sought to answer the following question: What types of information and advice were shared on Twitter using #FOAMed during the COVID- 19…”

“…15 Social media research has identified the benefits of using knowledge management models to understand how information is shared and curated. [16][17][18] Karl Wiig is widely considered a pioneer in this field, and his knowledge management cycle framework 19 on December 27, 2020 by guest. Protected by copyright.…”

Gamification of Enterprise Systems

“…Social connectivity (S) can be leveraged to allow team-based support or learning through training. Users can collaborate to complete exercises during training to practice applying their newly acquired knowledge and skills, and leaderboards can be used to track each team's progress [109]. For example, creating a simulated system issue that teams have to research and solve can be introduced during training, and the teams with the most innovative and efficient solution recognized.…”

An Intangible-Asset Approach to Strategic Business-IT Alignment

“…Organizations have to create conducive environments for employees to voluntarily participate in their pursuit for knowledge sharing and organizational learning, and also to cultivate a corporate culture in establishing social structures for knowledge sharing through quality interactions and meaningful discussions [52].…”

“…A social network is a set of interconnected people who directly or indirectly interact and influence each other [52]. A social network is a pattern of ties linking a defined set of persons or social actors [54].…”