ABSTRACT
Abstract: Advances in information and communication technologies have enabled the creation of “online communities,” where individuals congregate via a shared technology to engage in a variety of social interactions. In addition to purely social communities (such as Facebook or MySpace), some communities develop for the primary purpose of knowledge exchange, creating electronic communities of practice akin to an online help desk. We refer to these communities as electronic knowledge networks (EKNs). Given the success and proliferation of EKNs openly available on the Internet, organizations are investigating the creation and management of EKNs as a crucial knowledge management technology to support intraorganizational knowledge exchange. This chapter reviews the literature on two key issues that are essential for understanding knowledge exchange in EKNs: why people participate and how these networks are structured to ensure sustainability over time. Findings suggest that individuals participate in EKNs due to self-interest, such as gaining access to information and advice, and enhancing one’s reputation or influence. In addition to self-interest, research also indicates that participation in EKNs is also driven by high levels of social capital, such as feelings of trust and obligation, that stem from the social interactions in the network. In terms of network sustainability, research indicates the EKNs are predominately structured as scale-free networks, where the vast majority of effort is contributed by a small minority of individuals. Participation in these networks also exhibits certain underlying patterns of exchange, such as patterns of reciprocity, generalized exchange, and, finally, preferential attachment. This chapter ends by suggesting the implications of this research for organizations, and areas in need of future research.
