ENGR802:

Lesson 4: Globalization and the Impact on Communication & Knowledge Sharing

Barriers to Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Teams

From your assigned reading, Overcoming Barriers to Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Teams, by Rosen et al., the authors identified six barriers to information and knowledge sharing in virtual teams (Rosen, et al., 2007). Virtual teams must develop mechanisms to encourage the sharing of individual and collective knowledge, establish trust, communicate clearly, and resolve conflicts openly. Based on their study, the authors developed a model of information and knowledge sharing in virtual teams (Figure 4.3). The authors present “best practice” solutions for overcoming barriers to knowledge sharing in virtual teams (see Table 2, p. 9 of Rosen, et al., 2007). You will be creating a team contract for your course group project and will be asked to incorporate these suggested best practices within your contract.

Knowledge Sharing

Effective knowledge sharing not only depends on mechanisms for communication such as emails, telephone, instant messaging, etc., but also depends on the ability and willingness of team members to participate in the knowledge sharing process (Rosen, et al., 2007).