| This dissertation describes an exploratory study of knowledge sharing among professionals in three online communities of practice---Nurse Practitioner listserv, a Web Developer listserv, and a Literacy Educator listserv. Data were gathered on the three online communities of practice through online observations and interviews. Results show that the most common type of activity performed by members of each community was sharing knowledge. Regarding the types of knowledge shared, the most common one across all three communities was practical knowledge. In NP-1, the practical knowledge of institutional practice was most commonly shared; in both WD-1 and LE-1, personal opinion made up the bulk of practical knowledge shared. Regarding motivations for knowledge sharing, findings suggest that in all three communities, the majority of frequent knowledge sharers were motivated by multiple rather than single motivators for sharing their knowledge. Overall across the three communities, the following eight motivators were found: collectivism, reciprocity, personal gain, respectful environment, altruism, technology, interest of seeker, and outspoken personality. Regarding barriers for knowledge sharing, findings suggest that overall across the three communities, the following nine barriers were found: no new knowledge to add, unfamiliarity with subject, competing priority, technology, arrogant attitude, confidentiality, not wanting to cause a fight, work-in-progress, and knowledge seeker perceived as unable to utilize knowledge. Overall, the number of motivators, number of barriers, number of years of experience, and duration of membership in listserv did not appear to explain the variation of the amount of knowledge shared by the more and less frequent sharer groups in all three communities. However, the type of motivators and type of barriers might explain the variation of the amount of knowledge shared by the two groups. The number of years of working experience showed an overall significant negative relationship with the number of motivators. Practical and theoretical implications for knowledge sharing in online communities of practice were discussed, along with some recommendations for future research. |
