¹Department of Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Correspondence: R. Bosua, Department of Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Tel: 61 3 8344 1398; E-mail: rachelle.bosua@unimelb.edu.au

Received 20 March 2006; Accepted 21 March 2007.

Abstract

Effective knowledge sharing underpins the day-to-day work activities in knowledge-intensive organizational environments. This paper integrates key concepts from the literature towards a model to explain effective knowledge sharing in such environments. It is proposed that the effectiveness of knowledge sharing is determined by the maturity of informal and formal social networks and a shared information and knowledge-based artefact network (AN) in a particular work context. It is further proposed that facilitating mechanisms within the social and ANs, and mechanisms that link these networks, affect the overall efficiency of knowledge sharing in complex environments. Three case studies are used to illustrate the model, highlighting typical knowledge-sharing problems that result when certain model elements are absent or insufficient in a particular environment. The model is discussed in terms of diagnosing knowledge-sharing problems, organizational knowledge strategy, and the role of information and communication technology in knowledge sharing.