Distributed “Knowing in Practice” in Workshare Contexts

Abstract

Many companies set up operations offshore and complete projects by 'worksharing' where responsibilities are split between geographically dispersed offices. This chapter looks at how knowledge management systems facilitate practices essential for collaborative, distributed work. A qualitative case study is conducted at a large multinational engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company that has successfully implemented a knowledge management system. The study uses the framework of 'knowing in practice' to the context of worksharing. This chapter contributes to the practice by providing specific suggestions that can be implemented from a social technical perspective to facilitate worksharing, specifically, suggesting technological factors and efforts needed by users and managers in facilitating worksharing. This chapter contributes to research by applying the lens of 'knowing in practice' to the context of worksharing.