Antecedents and Consequences of Adopting Social Networking Technologies for Knowledge Sharing in Small Firms

Abstract

This paper examines factors, which affect web 2.0 knowledge sharing and its effect on organizational innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study also investigates whether web 2.0 knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between HR (Human Resource) practices and innovation. The proposed research model and its associated hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modelling on a dataset of 552 SMEs. Results suggest that technological and organizational factors are positively associated with web 2.0 knowledge sharing in Ss, while the contrary is found with regard to vertical competition. In addition, results show that web 2.0 knowledge sharing positively influence innovation and that web 2.0 knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between Human Resource (HR) practices and innovation in SMEs.