Peer-to-Peer Enterprise Knowledge Management

Organizations recognize the importance of enterprise knowledge management, but what has not been realized is the enormous potential offered by peer-to-peer (P2P) networking in managing organizational knowledge. This chapter explores how P2P can confer superior knowledge management capabilities by improved search capabilities, content sensitive addressing, and the community aspect of knowledge transfer in a P2P network. While P2P offers tremendous potential, it should be recognized that this technology is severely limited by the holdup problem. This article explores the free rider problem and suggests ways to align the incentives of participants in a P2P network.