Motives for Sharing: Social Networks as Information Sources

Abstract

It is clear that a lot of information acquisition happens through networks and therefore the focus in this article will lie in the relationships that bind a network together. The attempt is to map the motives as well as the group identity factors as means of exploring the reasons for sharing. The theoretical framework is brought from the social capital and group identity literature combined with the theories on information sharing in context. The aim is to see how information-sharing practices are developed in two different organisations and these theories are mirrored in the information sharing practices in an insurance company and in a biotechnology firm. The analysis of the cases shows how the group identity and the local context affect information sharing practices. The human and social processes underpin the formal structures enabling information interactions.

Citation

Widén-Wulff, G. (2007), "Motives for Sharing: Social Networks as Information Sources", Garten, E.D., Williams, D.E., Nyce, J.M. and Talja, S. (Ed.) Advances in Library Administration and Organization (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Vol. 25), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0732-0671(07)25001-1