The Efficacy of Knowledge Sharing in Centralized and Self-Organizing Online Communities: Weblog Networks vs. Discussion Forums

Abstract

Knowledge sharing has emerged as a miracle cure to the negative impacts of constant fluxes of workforce and demographics, such as rapidly aging baby-boomer workforce. As a result, increasingly more organizations are focusing on real time knowledge sharing and collaboration. This paper explores the impact of collaborative software on an online community's control structure and subsequently on knowledge sharing in that community.Using a framework comprising theories of Legitimate Peripheral Participation and Weak-ties, we analyzed self-organizing online communities (e.g., weblog networks) and centralized online communities (e.g., discussion forums communities) with respect to the efficacy of knowledge sharing in these communities. Findings of this study indicate that self-organizing communities of practice facilitate more weak-ties among their members than centralized communities. These findings suggest that self-organizing communities would facilitate greater dissemination of knowledge among their members than centralized communities. Abundance of weak-ties in the self-organizing communities also makes these communities better environments for the discovery of new information.