1 Common knowledge: an exploration of social learning in distributed organisations

2 Supervisors Common knowledge: an exploration of social learning in distributed organisations Student Hazel Hall Institution Napier University Business School, Edinburgh, Scotland Registered Part-time from October 1999 Sponsor Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland International Teledemocracy Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland University of Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth, Wales Professor Elisabeth Davenport Ann MacIntosh Professor David Ellis

3 The research topic Thesis title Common knowledge: an exploration of social learning in distributed organisations Aims of the investigation To investigate the incentives to use intranets to share organisational knowledge. To establish a metric for intranet participation in knowledge management.

4 Issues related to knowledge management as an area of research As a subject domain KM has been “claimed” by commentators from a number of disciplines offering different approaches. Much published material focuses on reports of management consultancy type exercises, highlighting the benefits of such activity in broad terms.

5 Knowledge management messages to business Businesses have been on the receiving end of a lot of hype related to knowledge management. Key messages include: Take advantage of the understanding and skills of your staff! Realise the wealth of your intellectual capital through identifying and sharing both explicit and implicit information in an open, extended enterprise! Transform what has been learnt into what can be usefully applied by teams working towards common goals! Create a knowledge culture!

6 A corporate response: the intranet Corporate intranets have been recognised for a number of years as tools for knowledge creation and sharing. However The National Computing Centre reports that intranets are not delivering what they promise: 25% of companies with intranets are disappointed with the intranets’ overall impact on business; 31% are disappointed with the extent to which their intranets are used (National Computing Centre, 1999). The actual extent to which intranets leverage knowledge and enhance value has not been identified by current research. Research to date tends to assume the provision of intranet content with little regard to the incentives offered to staff to contribute to a common knowledge resource. National Computing Centre (1999). The NCC survey of IT users. Manchester: National Computing Centre.

7 Research focus 1 Methodologies/approaches that enable/inhibit strategies the leverage of value from knowledge resources.

8 Research focus 2 Means of creating organisational culture and the social learning necessary to develop trust in teams.

9 Research focus 3 Means of encouraging of employee contributions to the intranet-enabled knowledge base, with particular reference to incentives, e.g. motivational factors, systems design features and “contributor-friendly” interfaces.

10 Research focus 4 Metrics of intranet value for the sharing of knowledge.

11 Methodology largely qualitative: content analysis, observation and interviews for data collection. by case study: large, multinational company with communities of knowledge managers and intranet content producers.