The Role of Technology and Social Media in Tacit Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

Technology-mediated knowledge sharing has become almost unavoidable given the globalization of work. Co-workers are not necessarily in close enough proximity to have face-to-face interactions despite the fact that these are the most effective means of sharing knowledge. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) differ in a number of key attributes. While traditional technologies are well suited for sharing explicit knowledge, that has been articulated and documented as text or other media, tacit knowledge is more challenging. Tacit knowledge is typically experiential knowledge that is very difficult to put into words or document in any way. This paper proposes an ICT selection method based primarily on media richness (extent to which multimedia content can be shared) and social presence (extent to which people feel they are connecting with other people and not technology). These characteristics can serve as a preliminary basis to select the most appropriate channel for sharing tacit knowledge.