Searching for Answers--Knowledge Exchange through Social Media in Organizations

Organizations need information systems that facilitate the exchange between knowledge seekers and contributors in order to manage knowledge successfully. As prior research suggests, social media platforms are a promising solution for bridging the gap between both sides in an effective manner. To enhance our understanding of the benefits of these technologies for knowledge management, we analyze the content of 15,505 enterprise microblogging messages created by 1,166 employees of an international financial institution. Specifically, we explore what kind of knowledge users seek and how knowledge is contributed from an individual perspective. Building upon social capital theory we further analyze how the strength of the relationship between seekers and contributors influences the quality of knowledge exchange. Our results provide first insights on how knowledge exchange through social media takes place in organizations. Moreover, we find empirical evidence that these technologies leverage an organization's existing knowledge, specifically through bridging of otherwise disconnected people.