Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

10-2010

Abstract

Organizations are using virtual communities to facilitate knowledge management and to enhance communication among employees, customers, and other interested individuals. Individual users can use virtual communities to engage in knowledge sharing. Professional communicators need to understand and adapt to a globalized and “flat” world, where people across different cultures interact freely and easily with one another in virtual communities. An intriguing question regarding virtual communities relates to whether national culture affects communication and types of knowledge sharing. This study examines the influence of US and Chinese national cultures on types of knowledge-sharing activities in virtual communities. The findings indicate that national culture differences between China and the US are also evident in virtual community environments.

Keywords

Cultural differences, knowledge sharing, professional communication, virtual communities

Discipline

Databases and Information Systems | Digital Communications and Networking

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Areas of Excellence

Digital transformation

Publication

IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

Volume

53

Issue

3

First Page

278

Last Page

292

ISSN

0361-1434

Identifier

10.1109/TPC.2010.2052842

Publisher

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2010.2052842

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