VOSS: Creating Global, Multi-lateral, Knowledge-Sharing Communities of Practice

社会知识共享网络是组织成功的核心，但随着分布式全球组织的发展，许多公司正在努力克服创建和维护跨地理，学科，国家和文化边界的关系的挑战。 本研究调查了跨国工程和建筑组织内的实践社区，以建立一个包容性的，全球性的，知识共享网络的理论。 通过社会网络分析和定性访谈，研究团队将理论化知识连接形成驱动因素和知识流动模式。 现有的技术使我们能够绘制关系网络，本项目将进一步通过（1）识别和测量地理位置，学科，商业实践和世代对知识共享连接的影响;（2）确定网络中知识的中心来源和知识的方向流动;（3）分析和解释促进和阻碍组织内跨越边界的知识共享连接创建的条件;（4）确定知识为什么会向特定方向流动。随着分布式国际组织的发展，鼓励企业内部知识转移的社会关系网络将减弱，知识共享将变得越来越困难。更好地了解形成知识共享联系的驱动因素及其持续维持，可以提高我们应对重大社会和组织挑战的效力。这项研究将推进知识共享在全球，跨学科，以技术为基础的实践社区的社会科学理论，并为创建和维护多边知识共享连接，以加强跨国工程和建筑公司的跨学科实践社区提供建议。

Social knowledge sharing networks are central to organizational success, but with the growth in distributed global organizations, many firms are struggling with the challenge of creating and maintaining relationships that cross geographic, disciplinary, national, and cultural boundaries. This study investigates communities of practice within multinational engineering and construction organizations to build a theory of inclusive, global, knowledge sharing networks. Through social network analysis and qualitative interviews, the research team will theorize knowledge connection formation drivers and knowledge flow patterns. Existing techniques allow us to map networks of relationships, this project will go much further by (1) identifying and measuring the influence of geographic location, discipline, business practice, and generation on knowledge sharing connections; (2) determining the central sources of knowledge and directional flow of knowledge within the networks; (3) analyzing and explaining the conditions facilitating and impeding intra-organizational boundary-spanning knowledge sharing connection creation; and (4) determining why knowledge flows in a particular direction. As the movement toward distributed international organizations grows, the networks of social relationships that encourage the transfer of knowledge within a firm will weaken and knowledge sharing will become increasingly difficult. A better understanding of the drivers underlying the formation of knowledge-sharing connections and their ongoing maintenance can improve our effectiveness in addressing major societal and organizational challenges. This research will advance social science theory of knowledge sharing in global, interdisciplinary, technology-based communities of practice and provide recommendations for creating and maintaining multi-lateral knowledge sharing connections to enhance interdisciplinary communities of practice in multinational engineering and construction firms.