Year: 2007
Type: preprint
Abstract: This paper introduces a model of knowledge sharing of lead users located in a public and\nunrestricted community of users. While existing literature on knowledge sharing focuses on\nallocation and collaboration processes inside or among companies we extend this to the community\nlevel. We then focus on how key agents — lead users — facilitate knowledge sharing in this setting\nand the features that moderate such sharing. Our results show that lead users are central to search\nand integration of knowledge from different external sources of relevance to their communities.\nInside the community lead users are active in both “giving and taking” knowledge. Further, as users\nbuild up experience they tend to give more knowledge, thus suggesting a dynamic pattern of\nknowledge sharing in which increases in experience make way for important knowledge diffusion\nprocesses in the community.
Authors: Lars Bo Jeppesen, Keld Laursen
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1570908233