Creating a knowledge strategy for the virtual sphere: A conceptual framework for knowledge societies

Abstract

Habermas's concept of the 'Public Sphere' (öffentlichkeit) enabled the bourgeoisie to participate in the process of discussing social issues and making various decisions which were influential in the formation of the laws regulating social life. Although the public sphere refers to citizens expressing their idea in a society, the virtual sphere has rapidly moved on to the Internet environment through the use of social media. In order to understand the concept of the virtual sphere, it is very well known from the literature that version 1.0 and 2.0 of the virtual spheres have different characteristics (Papacharissi, 2002). Access to information, reciprocity and commercialization are three characteristics of the virtual sphere 1.0 on the one hand, whereas civic narcissism, direct representation, pluralistic agonism and hybrid influence are reflected by virtual 2.0. In this regard, the aim of the study is to identify a suitable knowledge strategy for the virtual spheres 1.0 and 2.0. Codification and personalization types of knowledge strategy will be followed in this study by conceptualizing a framework, which will be designed by understanding the virtual sphere in a society. There is still a literature gap the relationship between public sphere and virtual sphere as well as the lack of understanding for the integration of knowledge strategies (codification and personalization) with virtual sphere 1.0 and 2.0 in the context of tacit and explicit knowledge. The main problematic issue of this study revolves around how two type of knowledge strategies could be used by virtual spheres 1.0 and 2.0. Two propositions which will be expected to contribute to the literature were developed in the study to understand the roles of two types of knowledge strategies in relation to virtual sphere variants regarding the digital society and knowledge society.