Enterprise social networks: Platforms for enabling and understanding knowledge work?

Abstract

Traditionally, knowledge management initiatives in organizations have focused on the conversion of tacit into explicit knowledge with the goal to capture and store this knowledge in repositories. Many of these attempts to manage knowledge have failed, one possible reason for that being the negligence of the social context of knowledge work. Offering an alternative understanding of knowledge, the knowledge-in-practice perspective suggests knowledge to be represented, created and translated through the work practices and the social context that individuals interact in. In recent years, companies have started to use internal social networking platforms, i.e. Enterprise Social Networks, to support collaboration and knowledge sharing. Based on a literature review, this chapter discusses how Enterprise Social Networks can help enable and understand knowledge work. The results of this chapter are hoped to inspire the dialogue between research and practice and inform future investigations in the field of Enterprise Social Networks.