Title: Knowledge sharing in online communities and its relevance to knowledge management in the e-business era

Authors: Christopher Lueg

Addresses: Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia

Abstract: Proliferation of network access in the age of the internet has enabled information and knowledge sharing to an extent that was beyond thought a few years ago. In this paper, we discuss the impacts of two heavily intertwined trends that have emerged, especially during the past few years. On the one hand, an increasing number of business-to-customer relationships almost requires customers to be online savvy. On the other, the internet has enabled alternative information dissemination channels where information can be published bypassing traditional media control instances. Online communities have shown themselves to be social settings in which effective information and knowledge sharing can be observed. In this paper, we illustrate some key aspects of the potential power of online communities and we argue that knowing about relevant online activities is becoming an increasingly important aspect of knowledge management in the e-business era.

Keywords: online communities; information dissemination; information management; knowledge management; security management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2003.002170

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2003 Vol.1 No.2, pp.140-151

Published online: 21 Jul 2003 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article