The ba of blogs Enabling conditions for knowledge conversionin blog communities

摘要

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the characteristics of ablog community and the enabling conditions of knowledge conversion using the knowledge creationcycle and the enabling context (ba) in which knowledge is converted from individual to collective andfrom tacit to explicit. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review is used to identify environmental factors andenabling conditions for knowledge conversion and the sense of community within blog communitiesas well as a blog-based virtual ethnography of a blog community. Findings – The paper proposes ten potential enabling conditions that influence the sense ofcommunity in blog environments, and which facilitate the ba of socialisation (originating ba) andexternalisation (conversing ba) necessary for conversion of tacit knowledge between individuals. Research limitations/implications – This study observed one blog community over a five-monthperiod of time. Future research could be extended to examine multiple networked blog communitiesfrom the inception of the communities. Originality/value – Previous research on the ability of virtual environments to facilitate ba for tacitknowledge conversion is limited. The paper develops an important connection between virtualenvironments and tacit knowledge conversion, which have implications for organisations whosemembers are not physically co-located but must share knowledge.