Flexible Mental Models and Collective Wisdom Through Social Media: An Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach

Abstract

Present study deals with the impact of social network technologies like email, web forums, chat rooms, wikis, and idea forums on individual mental models and collective wisdom. Theme of collective wisdom has been explored from a systemic perspective considering the parameters that help the organizations and their constituent groups to create and share knowledge, collectively reflect and find sustainable solutions to the problems. Role played by the social media and network technologies in connecting people; facilitating dialogue; knowledge sharing, flexibility and collaboration leading to improved mental models and collective wisdom has been studied in detail using an Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach.