Virtual Communities of Practice as a Knowledge Sharing Tool: Recommendations for International Business

Abstract

Knowledge sharing is essential for a person to grow individually and professionally. In recent years, international businesses have tended to realize the importance of having a good knowledge management system in place. The COVID-19 pandemic, back in 2020 brought a shift to the way of how companies operate with the majority turning to remote work. As a result, companies needed to adapt their knowledge sharing strategies to more remote possibilities. To guarantee that the employees are sharing their knowledge and are able to learn from others, more businesses started to adopt innovative tools for knowledge sharing. One of such tools is virtual communities of practice that brings a chance for employees to have a collaborative tool where they are connected with likeminded people. The objective of this article is to provide recommendations for ensuring knowledge sharing through virtual communities in international business organizations. To achieve this objective, potential knowledge sharing practices in the context of international business are discussed. Additionally, an original research methodology based on virtual ethnography for identi fying knowledge sharing practices in an international business organization is presented, and the qualitative research findings are discussed and interpreted.