Organisations, Social Media, and Knowledge Management
Social media play a relevant role as the basis to most processes related to information transfer as well as knowledge creation and transfer. In order to optimise those processes in organisations, knowledge management needs to take into account essential functions of social media. In this article, we describe some of the specific mechanisms by which a social media structure influences the effectiveness of information transfer and knowledge creation and transfer. Based on this, we put forward some considerations on the most suitable features of social media to meet organisational objectives. Knowledge management must be able to use existing social media and, if possible, to have those media adopt the most adequate structure.
Agustí CanalsProfessor Canals holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Physical Science from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and a MBA and a doctoral degree in Management Sciences from ESADE (Ramon Llull University). In addition, he has followed graduate studies at Penn State University, and Syracuse University.
Dr. Canals has been a Visiting Researcher of the Warwick Business School, within the University of Warwick, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. During his professional career, he has combined academic activity with managerial and consulting activities in the areas of organisation, information systems, and knowledge management. His research focuses on subjects related with strategic information and knowledge management, social media, and organisational complexity. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, where he founded the Information and Communication Sciences Department, and an Assistant Professor of the Strategy and General Management Department at ESADE. He is further the Director of the UOC’s KIMO Consolidated Research Group, which focuses on information and knowledge management, and Director of the UOC’s Master’s Programme in Strategic Information and Knowledge Management. He has published several articles in international journals as well as the books Gestión del conocimiento (Ediciones 2000, 2003), and Xarxes socials: fonaments i aplicacions (Editorial UOC, 2012).
