Knowledge construction by users. A content analysis framework and a knowledge construction process model for virtual product user communities
| Published date | 13 March 2017 |
| Date | 13 March 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2016-0060 |
| Pages | 284-304 |
| Author | Xuguang Li,Andrew Cox,Nigel Ford |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Knowledge construction by users
A content analysis framework and a knowledge
construction process model for virtual
product user communities
Xuguang Li
The Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China, and
Andrew Cox and Nigel Ford
University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purposeof this paper is to develop a content analysisframework and from thatderive a process
model of knowledge construction in the context of virtual product user communities, organization sponsored
online forums where product users collaboratively construct knowledge to solve their technicalproblems.
Design/methodology/approach –The study is based on a deductive and qualitative content analysis of
discussion threads about solving technical problems selected from a series of virtual product user
communities. Data are complemented with thematic analysis of interviews with forum members.
Findings –The research develops a content analysis framework for knowledge construction. It is based on a
combination of existing codes derived from frameworks developed for computer-supported collaborative
learning and new categories identified from the data. Analysis using this framework allows the authors to
propose a knowledge construction process model showing how these elements are organized around a typical
“trial and error”knowledge construction strategy.
Practical implications –The research makes suggestions about organizations’management of knowledge
activities in virtual product user communities, including moderators’roles in facilitation.
Originality/value –The paper outlines a new framework for analysing knowledge activities where there is
a low level of critical thinking and a model of knowledge construction by trial and error. The new framework
and model can be applied in other similar contexts.
Keywords Communities, Knowledge processes, Virtual communities, Problem solving,
Knowledge construction, User knowledge construction
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
It is widely accepted that knowledge is a key source of competitive advantage for
organizations (Nonaka, 1991; Nelson, 1991; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Spender and Grant,
1996; Brown and Duguid, 1998). Yet the types of knowledge that organizations need are
various: they are not limited to patents or strategic knowledge. They also require knowledge
of efficient processes, and fixes to simple product issues. Knowledge-related processes
whereby users of products themselves contribute are both theoretically and practically
important. Users can provide valuable innovative ideas for product development and
contribute to marketing strategies (Wurster and Evans, 1997; Mahr et al., 2014; Cui and Wu,
2016). However, there has also been considerable interest in knowledge construction
by users within virtual communities where product users simply share their knowledge and
solve technical problems collaboratively (Anderson, 2005). From such interactions,
producers may be able to gain knowledge of product usage and applications, discover
design defects and improve product design (Anderson, 2005; Mahr et al., 2014). A “virtual
product user community”, as such groups will be referred to here, can be defined as
“a producer-sponsored customer aggregation existing on the Internet to share usage
experience and collaboratively to find technical solutions to problems within specific
brand products”. Examples would be support forums run by large IT companies such
as Dell, HP or Lenovo.
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 73 No. 2, 2017
pp. 284-304
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-05-2016-0060
Received 10 May 2016
Revised 22 September 2016
Accepted 22 September 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0022-0418.htm
284
JD
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Knowledge from such sources can be very important to organizations, but how is it
constructed? The process through which knowledge is constructed is of theoretical and
practical interest. In this context the socialization-externalization-combination-internalization
(SECI) model developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) has been a very influential
theorization describing organizational knowledge creation. However, it deals with the whole
knowledge creation process at an organizational level and is rather abstract and hard
to operationalize(Engeström, 1999; Bereiter, 2002; Paavolaet al., 2002; McLean, 2004; Gourlay,
2006). For knowledge construction in the context of collaborative online discussions
of problem solving (i.e. where combing explicit knowledge) the SECI model does not supply
a sufficiently detailed analytical framework. An alternative source of a model could be the
various frameworks and tools that have been created for exploring knowledge construction
in students’asynchronous online discussions in formal computer-supported collaborative
learning (CSCL). However, these theories explore high-level cognitive engagement and
development of critical thinking in online learning discussions. As such they may need
to be adapted for product user communities, with their simpler problem-solving purposes.
The purpose of the research described in this paper was to create a content analysis
framework and using this to study common patterns of interaction to propose a possible
model of knowledge construction for virtual product user communities. The empirical data
used to develop the framework were taken from the Dell User Support Forum and other
support forums from HP and Lenovo. Around 50 long discussion threads chosen
systematically for theoretical relevance were analysed through a qualitative content
analysis method, and a content analysis framework was developed. Thematic interview
analysis served as a secondary source of data.
The paper is organized as follows: the following section examines the existing literature
relating to theories of knowledge construction and also reviews relevant analytic
frameworks from CSCL. Section 3 explains the methodology of the research, primarily based
on deductive content analysis. The findings are then set out in Section 4, with a content
analysis framework and a process model of knowledge construction being presented.
Confirmation of the model from other forums and from interview data is outlined. Section 5
considers the reasons why a trial and error approach to knowledge construction, requiring
little critical thinking, exists in this type of group. It explains how the approach taken here
complements the SECI model. Section 6 outlines the theoretical contribution of the study and
suggests some practical implications to be drawn from it. Researchers who are concerned
with knowledge construction in online communities, practitioners interested in managing
and moderating the online communities, and community ICT support designers could
benefit from understanding more clearly how to offer appropriate support and conditions
for knowledge construction to occur.
2. Literature review
2.1 Virtual communities of product users
Many kinds of virtual communities composed of product users have been seen as having the
ability to generate useful knowledge and innovative insights, such as virtual communities of
consumption (De Valck et al., 2009; Kozinets, 1999) and online brand community (Muniz and
O’Guinn, 2001; Amine and Sitz, 2004; Anderson, 2005; McAlexander et al., 2002; Jang et al.,
2008). Another example would be what we refer to here as virtual product user communities.
Readers will probably be familiar with the type of group run by many IT companies
to support their products. These online communities populated by product users enable the
business organization to incorporate community member generated knowledge and
problem-solving skills as external knowledge resources for innovation and, thus,
gain competitive advantage (Lilien et al., 2002; Füller, 2006; Wurster and Evans, 1997;
Thomke and von Hippel, 2002; Ernst, 2002; Nambisan, 2002; Bretschneider et al., 2015;
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