Title: An empirical study of nuclear power-related knowledge flow after Fukushima

Authors: Xuelin Liu

Addresses: Department of International Business, College of Economics and Business, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, South Korea

Abstract: Fukushima nuclear power plant accident has become a hot topic in debates among professional communities. It also caused knowledge searching and knowledge sharing among social groups. However, there is a lack of empirical studies investigating nuclear power-related knowledge flow in social communities. This paper examines nuclear power-related knowledge flow by focusing on the case of college students in South Korea. The research investigates the following objectives: the types of knowledge shared, the mechanism of knowledge flow, effectiveness of knowledge flow, and the factors influencing the knowledge flow. The results show that different types of nuclear energy-related knowledge were shared; mass media play an important role in knowledge flow; trust relationship, personal interests and cultural factors influence the effectiveness of knowledge flow.

Keywords: knowledge flow; nuclear energy; policy; nuclear power plants; NPP; nuclear safety; communication channels; social media; trust; culture; Fukushima accident; knowledge sharing; South Korea; mass media; nuclear accidents.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNKM.2014.062832

International Journal of Nuclear Knowledge Management, 2014 Vol.6 No.4, pp.371 - 379

Received: 01 May 2014
Accepted: 01 May 2014
Published online: 28 Oct 2014 *

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