Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm, Challenges by Social Media

This paper reports on a study of the perceptions of top managers in 18 Swiss firms on the future of knowledge work in an age of new social media (SM). The executives perceive, and are concerned with, future work practices and behavioral norms, they are aware that the use of SM for knowledge work can change the locus of knowledge production from within the firm to networks and communities of practice (CoPs) that extend beyond the firm's boundaries. To explore the strategic implications of this shift in locus, we re-conceptualize CoPs that emerge from the use of SM as a theoretical construct independent from the firm. We seek to distinguish the value propositions for firms and CoPs and explore the implications of a richer theoretical description of multiple strategic possibilities of firm-CoP relationships as new economic ecosystems emerge with widespread adoption of SM.

[1]  K. R. Conner,et al.  A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge Versus Opportunism , 1996 .

[2]  Chris Higgins,et al.  Information Acquisition and Mental Models: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Behaviour and Learning , 1996, Inf. Syst. Res..

[3]  Gabriela Avram,et al.  At the Crossroads of Knowledge Management and Social Software , 2005 .

[4]  E. Wenger.  Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity , 1998 .

[5]  Alexander Ardichvili,et al.  Motivation and barriers to participation in virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice , 2003, J. Knowl. Manag..

[6]  R. Mason,et al.  HOW EXECUTIVES PERCEIVE THE NET GENERATION , 2010 .

[7]  R. Grant.  Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[8]  Gabriela Avram,et al.  At the Crossroads of Knowledge Management with Social Software , 2005, ECKM.

[9]  Ioannis Stamelos,et al.  Free/Open Source Software Learning Community and Web-Based Technologies , 2004 .

[10]  D. Teece,et al.  Vertical Integration and Technological Innovation , 1980 .

[11]  Clayton M. Christensen,et al.  Innovacion disruptiva para el cambio social , 2006 .

[12]  N. Sakkab,et al.  Connect and Develop : Inside Procter & Gamble's New Model for Innovation , 2006 .

[13]  A. Jue,et al.  Social Media at Work: How Networking Tools Propel Organizational Performance , 2009 .

[14]  B. Wernerfelt,et al.  A Resource-Based View of the Firm , 1984 .

[15]  Dovev Lavie.  The Competitive Advantage of Interconnected Firms: An Extension of the Resource-Based View , 2006 .

[16]  Andrew Cox,et al.  What are communities of practice? A comparative review of four seminal works , 2005, J. Inf. Sci..

[17]  G. Hoetker.  How Much You Know versus How Well I Know You: Selecting a Supplier for a Technically Innovative Component , 2005 .

[18]  Richard A. McDermott,et al.  Harnessing your staff's informal networks. , 2010, Harvard business review.

[19]  A. Orders.  Cultivating communities of practice , 2013 .

[20]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[21]  Etienne Wenger,et al.  Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity , 1998 .

[22]  Eric A. von Hippel,et al.  How Open Source Software Works: 'Free' User-to-User Assistance? , 2000 .

[23]  J. Pfeffer,et al.  The External Control of Organizations. , 1978 .

[24]  Etienne Wenger,et al.  Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation , 1991 .

[25]  J. Brown,et al.  Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation , 1991 .