Knowledge sharing in electronic working environments - experiences and practices of knowledge workers

Simple item page
dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributor.authorMerilehto, Antti 
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Languages and Communicationen
dc.contributor.departmentKielten ja viestinnän laitosfi
dc.contributor.schoolKauppakorkeakoulufi
dc.contributor.schoolSchool of Economicsen
dc.date.accessioned2011-11-14T11:23:35Z
dc.date.available2011-11-14T11:23:35Z
dc.date.dateaccepted2010-09-09 
dc.date.issued2010 
dc.description.abstractObjective of the Study The objective of the study was to discover how knowledge workers use electronic working environments (EWEs) to share and communicate knowledge and what are the perceived benefits using EWEs. The case company is a knowledge intensive company operating in sales consulting. Knowledge sharing practices were studied within the case company in order to answer the following research questions 1) How do the employees use EWEs? 2) How do they share knowledge using the EWEs? 3) What are the perceived benefits of the use of the EWEs? Methodology and the Theoretical Framework The data in this qualitative single case study was collected by conducting 10 semi-structured interviews and conducting observation in the case company. Several background interviews were conducted before the data collection to gain understanding of the phenomenon. The interviews were conducted in Helsinki in the summer of 2010 and they included employees from all organizational levels to get a comprehensive picture of the use of EWEs in the case company. The theoretical framework of the study is based on a combination of Media Richness Theory and knowledge sharing literature as well as Enterprise 2.0 literature. Findings and Conclusions A variety of usage patterns of EWEs were found in the sample. Experienced users were able to identify a large number and more important uses for the technology than the ones who were less active. Notable knowledge sharing practices found in the study were search-based practices. Searches are still mainly conducted based on the hierarchical model. Searching data based on tags is getting popular by demand from employees who have been with the company for a shorter period of time. As literature on knowledge sharing suggests, culture seems to play a vital role in knowledge communication in EWEs. Knowledge sharing practices were based mainly on existing, explicit knowledge.en
dc.ethesisid12365 
dc.format.extent112 
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/497
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-201111181409
dc.language.isoenen
dc.locationP1 I
dc.programme.majorInternational Business Communicationen
dc.programme.majorInternational Business Communicationfi
dc.subject.heleconyritysviestintä 
dc.subject.heleconbusiness communication 
dc.subject.heleconkansainväliset yhtiöt 
dc.subject.heleconinternational companies 
dc.subject.helecontietämyksenhallinta 
dc.subject.heleconknowledge management 
dc.subject.helecontietoverkot 
dc.subject.heleconinformation networks 
dc.subject.helecontietotyö 
dc.subject.heleconknowledge work 
dc.subject.helecontietoyhteiskunta 
dc.subject.heleconinformation society 
dc.subject.heleconhiljainen tieto 
dc.subject.helecontacit knowledge 
dc.subject.keywordWeb 2.0 
dc.subject.keywordEnterprise 2.0 
dc.subject.keywordelectronic working environments 
dc.subject.keywordinternational business communication 
dc.subject.keywordknowledge 
dc.subject.keywordknowledge sharing 
dc.subject.keywordmedia richness theory 
dc.subject.keywordtacit knowledge 
dc.titleKnowledge sharing in electronic working environments - experiences and practices of knowledge workersen
dc.typeG2 Pro gradu, diplomityöfi
dc.type.dcmitypetexten
dc.type.ontasotMaster's thesisen
dc.type.ontasotPro gradu tutkielmafi
local.aalto.idthes12365
local.aalto.openaccessyes
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
hse_ethesis_12365.pdf
Size:
974.27 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
Collections
[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ