The integrated use of social media to support knowledge sharing in information technology projects from the perspective of affordances

Abstract

In the organizational scenario, information technology (IT) has increasingly become a powerful conductor of business strategies and an essential asset, while intangible resources such as knowledge contribute to the competitive advantage and directly affect its achievement. In this regard, knowledge sharing is the most significant process of knowledge management, and in the project management domain, success requires sharing knowledge at all project stages. Matching IT with business processes is both an enabler and a facilitator of knowledge sharing, and social media technologies have emerged as a valuable element to support knowledge sharing in IT projects and are being increasingly adopted in organizations. This document describes a PhD thesis in multiple studies, consisting of three articles and a technological product. The main objective of the research is to propose and evaluate a framework for the integrated use of social media tools, INT-SM4KS, to support knowledge sharing in IT projects, making use of the affordance perspective. At the end, practitioners will be provided with a support tool specifically developed and validated for them. Affordances were chosen as the theoretical lens to analyze the relationship between the use of social media and knowledge sharing within organizations. The research is essentially qualitative with a prescriptive approach and was conducted using the Design Science Research method, following a process model in five steps. A literature review and interviews with senior project managers were conducted to identify the research problem; an initial solution was proposed and subsequently developed and refined, based on the literature and interviews with practitioners; the framework was evaluated by senior project managers in a focus group meeting. The final version of the framework comprises three components, drawing on the concepts of affordance perception, actualization, and effect. It is presented in two complementary perspectives: the Components view and the Integration view. The impact of the framework is potentially relevant, contributing to the solution of problems identified in the literature and in practice, such as selecting or replacing social media tools; developing knowledge sharing processes and training; and creating guidelines for tool use. Its efficient application in IT projects can assist project managers by improving the benefits of knowledge sharing between participants and between different projects, which can increase managerial effectiveness and have a favorable impact on its success. The impacted area is potentially large, encompassing all project management activities.