Bruce Wang - I like what i write

Technology is not important for knowledge sharing

Mathemagenic

In the recent KM review Catherine Connelly shares results of the study focused on finding factor that are significant predictors of knowledge sharing among employees [more here].
Among other results (not in the article) the following factors were found important:
perceived management commitment to knowledge sharing
positive social interaction climate (e.g. feeling easy approaching others with questions)
But this one I like more - technology doesn't play a significant role:
...the findings of this study suggest that an organizations' information technology did not significantly affect the amount of knowledge exchange among employees. That is, employees who didn't have access to intranets, repositories or even e-mail were just as likely to share knowledge as their counterparts who had access to a wide variety of information technology (p.7).
She conclude we promoting smaller KM budgets:
The irony of promoting knowledge sharing on a smaller budget is that it may actually be more effective than a more expensive campain.
I'm not 100% sure that technology is not important for knowledge sharing, but this study is something to refer to while discussing that technology shouldn't drive it.