Exploring U.S. Air Force On-line Communities of Practice:An Examination of Content Management Practices

摘要

The management of knowledge assets has become increasingly important as organizations recognize the strategic value ofknowledge. In an attempt to capitalize on its potential, many organizations have turned to Internet technologies for capturing,managing and disseminating their vast amounts of explicit knowledge. One application of such technology can be found inthe use of on-line collaborative workspaces. These virtual workspaces facilitate and promote an environment for capturingand sharing knowledge among members of a particular field, task, or common practice. Despite the implied efficiency ofsuch an approach, an ever-increasing volume of information/knowledge may impede the ability of users to navigatesuccessfully through the workspace thus undermining the user participation and illustrating the importance of effectivecontent management (CM). This exploratory study uses case studies to examine the CM practices of eight U.S. Air Force onlinecommunities of practice. The findings suggest that the development of formal CM processes, and procedures may helpsolve future CM problems as well as increase the benefits associated with on-line CoP usage.