Knowledge Sharing In Organizations: The Role Of Communities

Because it has become a central construct in theory and research, knowledge is utilized to explain and predict behavior at all levels. Knowledge not only links cognition and action, it also integrates individual and collective levels of analysis. This chapter addresses the need for research on how cognition and action could be tied to organizational performance. The key questions are: why, and under what circumstances, do people share knowledge in organizations? Inherent in this exploration are three important features of knowledge: knowledge is a function of our justified true beliefs; knowledge enables action; and knowledge is both explicit and tacit. In this chapter, the issue of knowledge sharing will be examined through a collective action framework, and two possible solutions to the sharing problem will be identified: the use of agency and the nurturing of a communal resource. The chapter also discusses how this nurturing can be achieved.