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Innovations in Knowledge Management pp 127–146Cite as

Social Media Within German Companies—An Interview-Based Analysis

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Part of the book series: Intelligent Systems Reference Library ((ISRL,volume 95))

Abstract

Social media like social networks, blogs or wikis provide new possibilities for knowledge sharing in companies. In several studies the usage of social media in companies is already discussed, but it is concentrated on knowledge exchanges with customers and business partners or on quantitative analysis. Instead, in our chapter we employ qualitative analysis to investigate how social media is used for internal knowledge sharing in companies, especially in Germany. The study found that social media is used intensively if employees can benefit from the provided content. Although an open corporate culture and management support can facilitate a wider usage of social media, having a benefit is the main driver for knowledge sharing via social media, regardless of industry, company size, employees’ age, or incentives given to employees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Berlin School of Economics and Law, Alt-Friedrichsfelde 60, 10315, Berlin, Germany

    Kathrin Kirchner

  2. Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Carl-Zeiss-Straße 3, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Daniel Stegmann

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  1. Kathrin Kirchner
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  2. Daniel Stegmann
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Correspondence to Kathrin Kirchner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of International Business Communication, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Liana Razmerita

  2. Sellinger School of Business and Management, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Gloria Phillips-Wren

  3. Faculty of Education, Science, Technology and Mathematics, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia

    Lakhmi C. Jain

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Kirchner, K., Stegmann, D. (2016). Social Media Within German Companies—An Interview-Based Analysis. In: Razmerita, L., Phillips-Wren, G., Jain, L. (eds) Innovations in Knowledge Management. Intelligent Systems Reference Library, vol 95. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47827-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47827-1_6

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