Study Of Factors Influencing Knowledge Sharing And Community Promotion In Virtual Communities Of Practice

Abstract

newline A community is a group of people living in a same place and having something in common. The newlinecommunities which sprang up online are virtual communities. Sometimes a group of people who newlinedo some common job gets together to discuss and learn from each other. Such communities in newlinewhich the discussion revolves around some particular job or practice is known as a community newlineof practice (CoP). And just like communities, CoPs also emerged online supported by newlinetechnology, and these CoPs came to be known as virtual communities of practice. It is an newlineinformal network of people engaged in a particular profession, occupation, or job function that newlineactively seeks to work more effectively and to understand their work more fully. Members share newlinetheir practical knowledge and information with other members by helping each other perfrom newlinebetter. newlineThe success of VCoPs depends critically on the contribution of their members, which in turn newlinedepends on the strength of relationships between them. The primary objective of any virtual newlinecommunity is knowledge sharing. There are certain important factors which come in to play in a newlinesocial environment like a VCoP which influence knowledge sharing. Social capital theory is used in this study to explore how the factors like trust, reciprociry, identification, shared newlinelanguage and shared vision impacts knowledge sharing in VcoPs. To guarantee success and newlineperpetuation of a VCoP, it must be promoted by its members. This study deepens and extends prior research by conceptualizing contributions in VCoPs as a social activity. The aim of this newlinestudy is to uncover the importance of social capital factors for knowledge sharing and community promotion in a sponsored VCoP.