Title: Barriers and benefits of using social networking sites versus face-to-face meetings for sharing knowledge in professional societies

Authors: Kamla Ali Al-Busaidi; Gillian Ragsdell; Ray Dawson

Addresses: Department of Information Systems, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 20, PC: 123, AlKhod, Oman ' School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK ' Department of Computer Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK

Abstract: This study aims to assess the benefits and barriers of social networking sites (SNS) for sharing knowledge in professional societies, compared to face-to-face meetings (F2F). SNS can be a valuable technology for non-profit organisations. Studies have investigated the barriers and benefits of knowledge sharing in firm-based communities of practice (CoP) or virtual CoP, but not much is known about professional societies' use of public SNS for knowledge sharing. Based on two rounds of a Delphi study, the results revealed the benefits and barriers of F2F meetings compared to the benefits and barriers of SNS for sharing knowledge in professional societies.

Keywords: knowledge sharing; professional societies; social networking sites; SNS; face-to-face meetings; F2F; Delphi study; knowledge management; knowledge; social media; social networking; knowledge sharing benefits; knowledge sharing challenges.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2017.083681

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2017 Vol.25 No.2, pp.145 - 164

Received: 26 Jun 2015
Accepted: 01 Nov 2015
Published online: 19 Apr 2017 *

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