Success factors of a knowledge network

VU University Amsterdam and Viadesk researched what factors make a successful knowledge network. The definition of success is a twofold: both the amount of share knowledge, and the experience of added value together make the success. Read on to see how you can make your network more successful:

Practical relevance

The most important factor for the success of a network is daily relevance. The more discussed subjects in a network are linked to the work they do on a daily base, the more valuable the network is.

Attitude of the members

You need community members with two different attitudes towards sharing knowledge: people with willingness to share, and people that are eager to share. The first category shares knowledge when they think it is relevant for others. It is more a group process: they expect from others to comment. The second attitude; the people with eagerness to share are more communicating from there own interest; they are interested and want to share their knowledge about it. They care less about the relevance then the first group. The second group pushes the network and motivates others to write. The first group keeps the network going and keeps it relevant.

Persons

It is important that people know who the others members of their professional community are and how they can get in touch with them. Then they know what others can bring them and feel they can trust the others more.

Do's and Don'ts

There are a few do's and don'ts following from this research I want to share with here:

• Don't start a network when the relevance isn't clear for you and the other members.
• Stimulate people to post; even when it is less relevant. Find experts or very motivated people and ask them to share actively.
• Make sure people know who are the other people in a network. Ask them to fill in profiles and put pictures with it.

Archive