An activity theory approach for studying the situatedness of knowledge sharing

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology that enables to describe and analyze the situatedness of knowledge sharing within and between different organizational settings. By taking an activity system as the unit of analysis, an organizational setting within which knowledge sharing takes place can be described according to its emergent object of activity and its mediation of language and technologies, social rules and division of labor. Tensions and breakdowns, being inextricable aspects of activity systems, are consequently used as points of reference for studying knowledge sharing as an empirical phenomenon. By adopting an activity theory approach, the situated nature of the knowledge sharing process is stressed and a systemic analysis is ensured. Furthermore, the processual character of knowledge sharing is emphasized and the temporal interconnectedness is taken into account explicitly.