A framework for dealing with fundamental knowledge problems through social media

Date04 November 2014
Published date04 November 2014
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/VINE-07-2013-0037
Pages558-578
AuthorHarri Jalonen
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Knowledge management,Knowledge management systems
A framework for dealing with
fundamental knowledge
problems through social media
Harri Jalonen
Department of Life Sciences and Business,
Turku University of Applied Sciences, Turku, Finland
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to argue that the value of social media in knowledge management (KM)
can be evaluated on the basis of how social media helps to overcome four generic knowledge problems –
i.e. uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity and equivocality. Drawing upon the relevant KM and social
media literature, the paper discusses the four knowledge problems surrounding the KM and presents a
framework for overcoming them through social media.
Design/methodology/approach A literature synthesis involving inductive interpretation of
qualitative research was used.
Findings – The paper shows how different knowledge problems can be approached through social
media: uncertainty can be reduced by decent problem formulation and effective information acquisition,
complexity can be simplied by increasing knowledge process capacity and decomposing problems,
ambiguity can be dissipated by sensemaking and equivocality can be encountered by creating trust and
allowing polyphony of perceptions.
Research limitations/implications – The paper contributes to the KM research by providing a
theoretically founded framework which illustrates the relationship between social media and
knowledge problems.
Practical implications – The framework can be used not only for identifying and understanding
epistemological differences between knowledge problems but also for developing social media
guidelines for KM purposes. The paper provides a categorisation of knowledge problems, which can be
applied in the crystallisation of an organisation’s knowledge strategies in terms of codication and
personalisation.
Originality/value Social media means not only new possibilities but also new threats to
organisations’ KM practices. The paper establishes the association between social media and the
management of fundamental knowledge problems not previously discussed.
Keywords Social media, KM, Knowledge problem
Paper type Conceptual paper
1. Introduction
Knowledge plays a central role in an organisation’s competitive advantage (Barney, 1991;
Teece et al., 1997) and more generally in economic processes (Simon, 1999;Van den Berg,
2013). Although numerous studies have shown the benets of knowledge management
(KM) in leveraging knowledge and fostering productivity and innovation, there are also
This paper has been funded by Yksityisyrittäjäin säätiö (Foundation for Sole Traders),
Liikesivistysrahasto – the Foundation for Economic Education and Turku University of Applied
Sciences.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0305-5728.htm
VINE
44,4
558
VINE: The journal of information
and knowledge management systems
Vol. 44 No. 4, 2014
pp. 558-578
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/VINE-07-2013-0037
issues under debate. This is the case especially when considering the role of information
technology (IT) in KM. Haldin-Herrgard (2000) and Hislop (2001), for example, have
criticised IT’s ability to deal with knowledge-sharing issues. Particularly problematic has
been the tendency to overemphasise the role of explicit knowledge. The sharing of explicit
knowledge via IT is relatively easy, whereas the characteristics of tacit knowledge make it
difcult to share through IT (Hislop, 2001). Johannessen et al. (2001) have found that
investing in IT might give rise to the mismanagement of tacit knowledge and lead,
paradoxically, to a deterioration of the organisation’s competitive advantage.
Based on the view that social media is a technology which has and will transform the
means of communication, collaboration and networking, this paper presupposes that
social media challenges an organisation’s KM processes too. Social media provides a
context for new ways of creating, searching, sharing and applying knowledge (Gurteen,
2012;Hemsley and Mason, 2013). In an ideal case, social media enhances aspects of
knowledge processing including problem-seeking, recognition and formulation;
creating new knowledge; and knowledge integration (Firestone, 2009).
However, there are small differences related to the importance of different knowledge
processes for an organisation’s competitive edge. Nonaka and von Krogh (2009), for
example, have argued that an organisation’s ability to create new knowledge can be
used to explain the assertion that “organisations foster creativity, create opportunities,
change and enable innovation”, whereas Grant (1996) dened knowledge as an
individual activity and therefore emphasised that organisational KM procedures should
be focused more on knowledge application than creation. This paper is based on the idea
that if an organisation’s KM fails in the rst process, i.e. problem-seeking, recognition
and formulation, knowledge creation and integration are also at risk of failure. This is
because organisations are succumbing to solving the wrong problems (cf. Mitroff, 1998).
The “wrong problem” refers herein to a problem that is rooted in unstated and therefore
possibly biased assumptions.
This paper argues the need to explore the fundamental knowledge problems faced by
organisations. It is argued that the value of social media in KM should be evaluated on the
basis of how social media helps to overcome the four generic knowledge problems, i.e.
uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity and equivocality. Until this is explored and dened,
organisations run the risk of addressing the symptoms rather than the causes. Using a
literature synthesis involving inductive interpretation and reecting the practices found in
literature and in practice, this paper aims to establish associations between social media and
KM that were hitherto unknown. In particular, this paper focuses on knowledge problems
which are seen as the raison d’être of KM (cf. Zack, 2001). Due to the lack of high-quality
empirical studies regarding the relationship between social media and an organisation’s KM,
the arguments presented in this paper attempt to address the potentiality of social media in
tackling identied knowledge problems. This paper is more exploration than explanation.
The arguments are not meant to be exhaustive, but rather an illustration. The paper
contributes to our understanding of the roots and potential solutions of different knowledge
problems in the age of social media.
2. Social media potential in KM
KM is traditionally dened as a process which consists of several activities, such as
knowledge creation/construction, knowledge storage/embodiment, knowledge transfer/
dissemination and knowledge exploitation/use (Alavi and Leidner, 2001). Management
559
Fundamental
knowledge
problems

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