Social Media and Community Knowledge: An Ideal Partnership for Non-Profit Organizations

摘要

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) must manage knowledgeto be relevant, sustainable and competitive. The publishedliterature suggests that stories can be effective for sharingknowledge and making tacit knowledge explicit however,researchers have not examined storytelling as a knowledgemanagement practice in NPOs in any depth. Similarly, fewstudies explore the roles of social media in NPOs, includingtheir usefulness for knowledge management practices. Thispaper reports the results of a research study that examinedhow NPOs are using social media, with a particular focuson knowledge management practices. Qualitativeinterviews with 16 staff members working in a range ofNPO environments (such as health, library and socialservices organizations) were conducted. The findings pointto the value of storytelling for sharing the organization’smission, for monitoring the NPOs reach into thecommunity, and as a mechanism for gathering knowledgefrom clients and other key stakeholders.