SMEs and Mass Collaborative Knowledge Management: Toward Understanding the Role of Social Media Networks

ABSTRACT

This article proposes that mass collaborative knowledge management (MCKM) and social media networks (SMNs) tend to enhance productivity in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A case study methodology was employed to highlight the complementary advantages of MCKM related to the use of SMNs in a small business operating in southern Italy. The research aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion on MCKM. This article offers a fresh perspective by discussing the relevance of this construct for SMEs.

KEYWORDS:

• Case study
• mass collaborative knowledge management
• SMEs
• social media networks

Acknowledgments

The article was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) and supported within the framework of the subsidy granted to the HSE by the Government of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the Global Competitiveness Program.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Veronica Scuotto

Veronica Scuotto is a lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and project manager (on a secondment basis) at the University of the West of Scotland. Her research interests are focused on entrepreneurship and innovation, including ICT (e.g., social networking sites, smart cities, and IoTs), and her work has been featured in the Technological Forecasting and Social Change, theInternational Marketing Review, the Journal of Technology Transfer, the Business Process Management Journal, the Journal of Knowledge Economy, Information Systems Management Journal, and the Journal of Knowledge Management. She is also a reviewer for the Journal of Knowledge Economy and the Journal of Knowledge Management, and guest editor for a special issue aimed at the JKE, BJM, and IJSM.

Manlio Del Giudice

Manlio Del Giudice is an associate professor of Management at the University of Rome “Link Campus” and full Professor qualified in Italy. He holds a PhD in Marketing and Management at the University of Milano-Bicocca, and he is affiliated as a professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Paris School of Business, in Paris (France). He serves as Director for Research and Scholarly Relations within the Euromed Business Research Institute, where he is a senior fellow, as well. He is the author of about 100 international scientific publications; his researches have been published on flagship peer-reviewed journals like MIS Quarterly, Journal of Knowledge Management, Journal of Technology Transfer, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and International Journal of Technology Management.

Kingsley Obi Omeihe

Kingsley Obi Omeihe is an associate lecturer and a doctoral student at the University of the West of Scotland. His research interests include small business and entrepreneurship, SMNs, and inter-organizational trust. Prior to joining the University of the West of Scotland, Kingsley was instrumental in growing the Commercial Banking proposition of Standard Bank and Access Bank. He also served as a financial adviser representing Zenith Bank in various government fund initiatives. He earned his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Aberdeen, and studied Economics at the Lagos State University.