ICT as a mechanism for sharing intra-organisational knowledge: case study of the application of the GURU-IT platform

Abstract

Use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in knowledge transfer is one of the principal aspects to take into consideration in this century. The main objective of this study is to understand the importance of ICT in a Portuguese firm in the area of information systems, through application of a platform to share intra-organisational knowledge. Therefore, to attain this objective, the results obtained from an exploratory case study based on a sample of 204 collaborators in the firm selected are presented. From these results, the study concludes that to evaluate the importance of ICT in knowledge transfer, managers should consider four main dimensions: 1) collaborative atmosphere; 2) available knowledge; 3) capitalisation of knowledge; 4) organisational learning. Thus, this study contributes to the literature and the interface between ICT and knowledge transfer. Several implications are also presented.