1.
NÓRA OBERMAYER‐KOVÁCS, PHD
THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN
FOSTERING KNOWLEDGE SHARING
7th European Conference on Intellectual Capital ‐ ECIC 2015
Cartagena, 9‐10 April 2015

2.
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

3.
Determining the characteristics of using Social
media technologies as knowledge sharing tools.
Main objective
Organizational
knowledge
sharing
Social
media
5/23

4.
„Organizational knowledge sharing in Hungary 2013/2014”
 Web‐based, quantitative research
 Data collection: 2013‐2014
 Organizations: 299
 Respondents: white collar worker, middle level and top managers
 Sample: Organizations operating in Hungary
 Statistical and econometrical analyses
6/23

5.
10%
10%
24%55%
Micro businesses (< 10 employees)
Small businesses (< 50 employees)
Medium‐sized enterprises (< 250 employees)
Large companies
46%
54%
Hungarian‐owned company
Domestic subsidiary of a foreign
company
Numbers of employees Ownership
Organizations
7/23

6.
STATISTICS

7.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
The organization has knowledge management
strategy
The organization has such program, initiative or
project which supports knowledge sharing
The organization recognizes knowledge as a
strategic asset
37%
46%
77%
37%
69%
81%
2013/2014 2005/2006
Knowledge management strategies and initiatives
9/23

8.
 The EXISTENCE of external (available through
company’s network) knowledge sharing technologies/practices.
 The USAGE of external technologies/practices for knowledge sharing during
work or for professional development.
Organizational knowledge sharing technologies/practices
9/2110/23

9.
0% 20% 40% 60%
External presentation sharing (e.g. SlideShare)
External groupware (e.g. Google Docs)
External video sharing (e.g. YouTube)
Professional blog
External instant messaging service (e.g. Skype, MSN)
External social networking service (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn)
Possibility to take part in external Communities of Practices …
24%
30%
33%
33%
41%
56%
59%
External knowledge sharing technologies/practices (existence)
11/23

10.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
External presentation sharing
External video sharing
Professional blog
External groupware
External instant messaging service
Possibility to take part in external Communities of Practices
External social networking service
66%
72%
72%
76%
77%
79%
79%
External knowledge sharing technologies/practices (usage)
12/2112/23

11.
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS

12.
External communities of practices (CoP)
 Online portals that facilitate group meetings in various
localities around the world. People are contacting with
others generally with the professional aim.
 Discuss professional problems: group of active
practitioners can provide a way to share best practices,
ask questions and provide support for each other outside
the organization.
14/23

13.
External social networking service
 Facebook enables for a community to create a profile
(and topic groups) with the aim to share information/
knowledge to the followers (partners, customers).
 LinkedIn can be a perfect tool for finding experts.
 Communication can be encouraged to support problem
solving: if organization needs an expert, you can search
on LinkedIn to find the right person.
15/23

14.
External instant messaging service
 Online conference tool, which can promote the
instant communication and knowledge sharing
between the community members.
 At international organizations numerous
negotiations take place across national borders,
and these tools mean a more cost‐effective solution.
16/23

15.
Professional blog
 An informational site, which consists of posts. Weblogs
are focusing on partners, employees or everyone with
the aim to share information or knowledge.
 Communication between employees can be encouraged to
support problem solving: if organization wants to share
specific information to their customers, a post can be
placed on a blog.
17/23

16.
External video sharing
 YouTube allows users to upload, view and share videos, and
display a variety of individual or corporate media video.
 Convert personal knowledge to organisational knowledge:
participating at a conference and giving an interview,
organizations can use the video as a marketing tool, if they
share it with partners, customers, employees.
18/23

17.
External groupware
 GoogleDocs, as an external groupware supports collaborative creation
of knowledge. It can be used for sharing the documents without sending
them via e‐mails, but only sharing the link of the document.
 Other community members who have access to the GoogleDocs have a
chance to modify the materials.
19/23

18.
External presentation sharing
 SlideShare is a web‐based slide hosting service. Users
can upload presentations privately or publicly. The
website can be used for businesses to share slides
among employees more easily.
 SlideShare also provides users the ability to rate,
comment on, and share the uploaded content.
20/23

19.
SUMMARY

20.
 Implement Social media technologies
 Establish the terms and conditions of usage
 Communicate the advantages
 Provide trainings
 Develop reward system
20/21
Suggestions
22/23

21.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
obermayerkovacs@gtk.uni‐pannon.hu
University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary