Key factors in Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Virtual Communities of Practice: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Virtual Communities of Practice (VCOP) are environments widely recognized as knowledge management instruments, and their sociocultural contributions are being incipiently valued. However, VCOPs are complex participation contexts due to their sociotechnical and sociocultural nature. Participation mechanisms, particularly Knowledge Sharing Behavior (KSB), have been studied from heterogeneous theoretical foundations and practical research methods. Therefore, a wide dispersion of factors and dimensions has been identified. This paper aims to present an overview that summarizes and systematizes the key drivers of KSB in VCOPs. This paper presents a systematic review of KSB in VCOPs, based on 42 studies retrieved from WOS, SCOPUS and Science Direct. The review was conducted using the PRISMA model. The selection and qualitative synthesis of articles was enriched using Nvivo for coding and analysis of the full text documents. The results suggest that KSB in VCOPs have a multidimensional and multifactorial character that includes personal, interpersonal, contextual, and technological factors. The typology of factors presented could serve in academic settings to conduct new theoretical or empirical research, or in practitioner settings to implement VCOPs in institutions across diverse sectors. New assessment instruments of KSB in VCOPs could be based on this typology.