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Limitless learning: assessing Global

workplace
social media use for global learning

workplace learning
Karl Joachim Breunig 249
Oslo Business School, Oslo and Akershus University College, Oslo, Norway
Received 29 July 2014
Revised 4 February 2015
7 August 2015
18 October 2015
Abstract 30 March 2016
Purpose – This empirical paper aims to assess how social media can foster workplace learning within Accepted 25 April 2016
a globally dispersed project environment. In general, there are few studies on the use of social media in
organizations, and many of these emphasize on issues related to knowledge transfer. Although learning
traditionally has been as acquisition of knowledge, increasingly researchers point to learning-
as-participation occurring through work collaboration. Social media promise increased opportunities
for communication and collaboration, extending the context of collaboration beyond the local setting.
However, there exists limited research on how social media can foster workplace learning, for example,
between globally dispersed colleagues.
Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on an exploratory, in-depth single case study
of an international professional service firm’s implementation of an internal wiki system to address the
research question: how are social media utilized in an organization to foster workplace learning among
its dispersed individual experts? Data are gathered in 35 semi-structured interviews, as well as
documents studies and observations. Data are coded and analyzed utilizing the context and learning
factors of workplace learning.
Findings – The paper shows how the wiki system enables hybrid knowledge management strategies
linked to virtual collaboration on daily project tasks, involving documentation, search, interaction and
knowledge exchange, as well as socialization and learning from practice among dispersed groups and
individuals. The learning mechanisms involved in virtual collaboration do not differ much from what is
reported on face-to-face workplace learning, however, the context factors are extended beyond the local
setting.
Practical implications – The findings identify four determinants for using the wiki that can be of
use to other organizations implementing similar virtual collaboration technology. First, the wiki must
directly relate to the daily work by offering interactive and updated information concerning current
project challenges. Second, the system must enable transparency in the daily project work to allow
search. Third, the intention with the search is of lesser degree to identify encyclopedic information than
it is to visualize individual competence. Fourth, the quality assurance of the data posted at the wiki is
important.
Originality/value – The study reveals how an international knowledge-based organization can
utilize social media to leverage knowledge and experiences from multiple geographically dispersed
projects by enabling virtual collaboration. Extant empirical research on workplace learning emphasizes
on face-to-face interactions in groups, for example, when engineers, or accountants, in teams interact
and collaborate at client premises. However, there exists limited knowledge concerning how workplace
learning can be achieved through virtual collaboration.
The Learning Organization
Keywords Social media, Workplace learning, Hybrid knowledge management strategies, Vol. 23 No. 4, 2016
pp. 249-270
Virtual collaboration, Wiki © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0969-6474
Paper type Research paper DOI 10.1108/TLO-07-2014-0041
TLO Introduction
23,4 More than 25 years have passed since Lave and Wenger (1991) coined the term “situated
learning” and explained how the norm for learning is a function of the activity, context
and culture in which it occurs, that is, in which it is situated. Since then, a substantial
number of conceptual and empirical studies have contributed to the understanding of
how the social situation and practices at work relate to learning outcomes (Eraut, 2000,
250 Sawchuk, 2008, Lervik et al., 2010). The assumption underpinning this research is that
situated learning often occurs in communities through face-to-face interactions within a
shared local setting.
However, recent technological developments have revolutionized the ways in which
individuals collaborate, communicate and share knowledge through social media
platforms (Chui et al., 2012). Social media are technological platforms that utilize the
internet to enable interaction with one or several users (Boyd and Ellison, 2007).
Well-known examples are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google⫹, blogging, wikis,
YouTube and crowd-sourcing platforms. The use of social media implies improved
collaboration and communication within and among organizations (Kiron et al., 2012)
where virtual collaboration potentially can be linked to informal learning (Song and Lee,
2014). Social media facilitate interaction beyond the face-to-face encounters in the local
setting and are suggested to enable tapping into the “cognitive surplus” of society and
organizations (Shirky, 2010). Accordingly, there is a growing interest in how social
media can contribute to increased situated and workplace learning (Shepherd, 2011,
Thompson, 2011).
Nevertheless, extant research has focused predominantly on how social media affect
the private sphere, and empirical studies of social media utilization in an organizational
setting are scarce (Baxter and Connolly, 2014). Within the recently growing body of
research on social media utilization in organizations, some authors also asses their value
for learning. However, Matschke et al. (2012) focus on learning as knowledge sharing
and transfer and, thus, neglect the underlying practice dimension of situated learning.
Filipowski et al. (2012) and Valencia-García et al. (2012) are notable exceptions who show
how social media provide links to knowledgeable individuals with whom one can
interact and collaborate. However, these studies emphasize on the aspects of the new
technology, linking to a limited degree with extant theory on workplace learning. They
do not address issues related to the process of knowledge development as a byproduct of
the work conducted. In contrast, Milovanović et al. (2012) and Lee and Bonk (2014) argue
for informal learning as a product of virtual collaboration but do not assess this learning
process with established theory on workplace learning. Consequently, there is a void
between established research on situated learning and the emerging body of research on
utilization of social media for improved learning and collaboration in an organizational
context.
This paper aims to bridge this gap by applying the lenses provided by an established
framework for workplace learning (Eraut, 2004) on a case of social media utilization in a
global knowledge-intensive organization. The framework details specific learning and
context factors involved in informal learning related to collaboration at work, but
assumes that the workplace learning process occurs in real-time through physical
encounters in work-related activities. The main finding of the exploration is that the
implemented system offers opportunities for virtual collaboration that enables
workplace learning despite the absence of face-to-face interaction among engineering Global
professionals in this global project-based firm. workplace
The contribution of this paper is both to the emerging body of research on utilization
of social media in an organizational setting and extending the workplace learning theory
learning
by applying it in a context where work collaboration extends beyond the local and
physical encounter. The study reveals that social media can extend the context of
situated learning in both time and space. Documented information can be accessed and 251
searched by colleagues when work activities are performed in an asynchronous manner
(for example, because of different time zones). In addition, the documented information
is regularly used to identify colleagues, based in other locations, with a particular
expertise. Subsequently, these colleagues are directly involved (for example, over
Skype) to solve a specific work-related problem through discussion and collaboration.
The theoretical implication of these findings extends knowledge on how the workplace
learning process can involve a situated learning context beyond time and space. The
implications to practice are providing an example of how social media platforms can be
implemented and utilized for virtual collaboration and workplace learning in an
international organization. In addition, the implemented social media system can be
considered a hybrid knowledge management strategy, as it supports both codification
of explicit knowledge and a personalization strategy providing access to individual
experts’ tacit knowledge.
The paper is built up in five parts. As a point of departure, extant research on
workplace learning and research on the utilization of social media for learning and
collaboration in organizations is presented. Second, in the Methods section, the case and
why it was purposely selected is explained. Moreover, a description of the steps taken in
the data collection and data analysis is provided. Third, the findings from the case are
presented according to six dimensions of the workplace learning framework (Eraut,
2004). Fourth, the findings are discussed and compared to the extant theory on both
workplace learning and social media utilization for learning in organizations. As a final
part of the paper, implications and conclusions are offered.

Theoretical background
Manning (2015) explains how rapid and constant developments in contemporary
globalized business environments demand that learning increasingly go beyond what
human resources and training can meet. Therefore, professionals must rely on
non-formal learning approaches through the development of a personal learning
network to keep up-to-date. Learning has traditionally been associated with receiving
training, being taught or acquiring knowledge. However, over the past three decades,
researchers have increasingly acknowledged that learning can occur when participating
in a particular practice (Sfard, 1998). The participation metaphor rather than the
acquisition metaphor describe learning occurring, as individuals are socialized into the
practices within a particular field. Such situations have been extensively reported in
studies of situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991) that occur in communities of
practice (Wenger, 1998). Subsequently, interest in informal (OECD, 2010) and workplace
(Eraut, 2004, Gherardi, 2006, Sullivan, 2005) learning has increased. This research
accentuates learning through work-related activities and describes how socialization
into knowledge and professional practices occurs through collaboration (Eraut et al.,
2004, Billett, 2004).
TLO Paavola et al. (2004) describes workplace learning as new paradigm where learning is
23,4 understood as action in the world and as a particular type of adult, mid-career informal
learning effort. An elaborate assessment of theories and methods for research on
informal learning in work (Sawchuk, 2008) identifies three models commonly used to
express the need to value learning in the workplace. These three models are those
developed by Eraut (2000, Eraut, 2004 and Eraut, 2007); Illeris and Associates (2004);
252 and Livingstone (2005). Of these three, the first model is identified as the one best suited
for operationalization of the dimensions involved in how professionals in engineering,
business and health care sectors learn through work-related experiences. According to
Eraut et al. (1998), most learning that arises in this context is not planned and is
non-formal, resulting from the challenge of the work itself and from interactions with
people in the workplace. Achieving the goals of work requires new learning that is
achieved by a combination of thinking, experimentation and dialogue with other people,
often occurring when people are seeking help and advice related to solving challenges at
work. Workplace learning, thus, involves informal learning that is largely invisible, as
much of it is taken for granted or not recognized as learning (Eraut, 2004, p. 249). The
emphasis is on work and experience based on learner as worker. Hence, learning
outcomes are less predictable, as the resultant knowledge is either tacit or regarded as
part of a person’s general capability rather than something that has been learned.
Informal learning provides a simple contrast to formal learning or training that suggests
greater flexibility or freedom for learners. It recognizes the social significance of
learning from other people but implies greater scope for individual agency than
socialization (Eraut, 2004, p. 247).
A high proportion of the workplace learning is according to Eraut et al. (2007, p. 99,
409-410) linked to the following five processes:
(1) participation in group activities;
(2) working alongside others;
(3) consultations – within or outside the working group;
(4) tackling challenging tasks; and
(5) working with clients.

The assumption underpinning this description of the workplace learning process is that
it is something that occurs in practice, and that practice is constrained by time and place.
In addition, Eraut (2007, p. 404) expresses skepticism toward technology-enhanced
learning, as “much professional work deals with complex situations that require the use
of complex knowledge that defies simple forms of representation”. However, recent
empirical studies have found that technology-enhanced learning is particularly effective
in the health care sector (Bullock and Webb, 2015), that knowledge sharing increases
with 204 per cent when Net-generation utilizes social media for learning (Ras and Rech,
2009) and that even internet gaming can affect informal learning outcomes (Hou and
Fang, 2014). In fact, there is a completely new generation of dynamic and emergent
aggregation of Web tools, software applications and mobile technologies that integrate
the technological and pedagogical features and affordances of the internet and its
associated services and devices to facilitate the design, development, delivery and
management of learning (Dabbagh et al., 2016, Quinn, 2016). As a result, organizations
are increasingly adopting social media tools to promote collaboration, learning and Global
knowledge management (Thomas and Akdere, 2013). workplace
García-Peñalvo et al. (2012) acknowledged this potential and addressed how social
media, in particular, can increase learning in the workplace. However, the use of social
learning
media, as with any other technologies for knowledge management in organizations,
must be sensitive to individuals’ potential objection to sharing hard-earned experience
through digital interaction (Kok, 2014). Chui et al. (2012) assert that the greatest benefits 253
will be realized by organizations that have or can develop open, non-hierarchical,
knowledge-sharing cultures encouraging virtual collaboration. Various social media
appear to be gaining steady recognition and use in organizations (Baxter and Connolly,
2014). For example, Hester (2014) used a socio-technical systems theory perspective to
analyze the utilization of an organizational wiki for collaborative knowledge
management, and Janes et al. (2014) investigated a medium-sized law firm’s
implementation of a knowledge management program with wiki system functionality.
Ruth and Houghton (2009) described how wikis advance collaborative, egalitarian
learning that extends individual performance. For example, Ras and Rech (2009)
showed how Net-generation students utilize social media to increase learning, taking
advantage of others’ experiences by utilizing wiki technology. In addition, recent
research has indicated that wikis are the best social media tools for knowledge
management and collaboration among geographically dispersed individuals (Razmerita
et al., 2009, Levy, 2009).
Consequently, there is an emerging body of literature on the use of social media in
organizations. There are also studies that link social media with a potential to enhance
learning. However, we still lack an understanding of how social media contribute to
learning and the building of shared organizational resources from a learning-
as-participation perspective. Current research on social media emphasizes on the
knowledge transfer dimension and is, thus, underpinned by a learning-as-acquisition
perspective (Sfard, 1998). Information and communication technologies have
traditionally been utilized in knowledge management strategies aiming at codification
(Hansen et al., 1999). Recent empirical studies have found that hybrid strategies, which
combine elements of knowledge codification and personalization, are more common
than other knowledge management approaches, that is, in the software industry
(Mukherji, 2005). Social media are perceived as a new paradigm for collaboration and
knowledge management for organizations (Gurteen, 2012) and can potentially increase
the opportunity for organizations to achieve hybrid knowledge management
approaches. The basic assumption underpinning social media is that individuals are
sources of knowledge; Thompson (2011) described how people reach out, interact and
learn from each other in online communities. These communities offer shared, open
social and searchable platforms that are expected to connect colleagues working on
related issues (McAfee, 2009). Moreover, they provide a more networked approach to
knowledge sharing among geographically dispersed individuals (Kaplan and Haenlein,
2010). Utilization of opportunities in social media, thus, has the potential to increase
collaboration and learning. These characteristics necessitate personal involvement in
the development and sharing of valuable organizational knowledge (Michailova and
Gupta, 2005), with individuals volunteering their knowledge and experience, making
them explicit as user-generated content in the organization’s information and
communication system (Shao, 2009).
TLO Hence, there is a need to assess social media beyond their knowledge transfer
23,4 capacities. Indeed, social media are proposed to increase the pool of resources also for
virtual collaboration and, thus, may affect how people learn through processes of
socialization (Razmerita et al., 2009). However, extant literature addressing the effect of
social media on workplace learning (Somerville and Howard, 2010, Milovanović et al.,
2012, Lee and Bonk, 2014) do to a limited degree relate to established frameworks to
254 assess the value of learning in the workplace. As explained above, the theory concerning
situated, informal and workplace learning is well established with an abundance of
theoretical and empirical contributions. Nonetheless, this research is underpinned by an
assumption that interaction in the same location is a prerequisite for workplace learning.
Consequently, the extant theory on workplace learning fails to take into consideration
the promised opportunities of increased utilization of social media in organizations. The
aim of this study is to bridge insights from these two bodies of research.

Methods
To explore organizations’ use of social media to enable virtual collaboration that
facilitates workplace learning, this study uses a qualitative case study approach (Yin,
1994). The research is based on a single purposely selected (Eisenhardt, 1989, Yin, 1994)
unique revelatory case (Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007) and involves in-depth
qualitative exploration of cross-border knowledge management via an internal wiki
system in a single global professional service firm (Von Nordenflycht, 2010) offering
engineering services globally (Brock and Alon, 2009). The research setting is
particularly relevant for this investigation because this specific type of firm has been
recognized as a type of firm that would benefit most from the utilization of social media
(Chui et al., 2012) and constitute a setting where learning is linked to socialization
through collaboration (Eraut et al., 2004). Chui et al. (2012) assert that social media have
enormous potential to increase the productivity of knowledge workers and estimate that
professional service firms, in particular, can obtain the greatest potential value (98 per
cent) from virtual collaboration. In addition, the case involves the implementation of a
wiki system. A wiki is defined by Van Zyl (2009, p. 908) as “a web site that allows online
collaboration by allowing multiple users to add, remove or edit content and changing
content. It also allows linking among any number of pages” and, thus, contrasts with
traditional encyclopedias in which information is static and pre-determined by selected
experts (Paroutis and Al Saleh, 2009). Wikis are a type of social media that are receiving
recognition and increasingly being used to enable virtual collaboration (Baxter and
Connolly, 2014). Wikis provide a technological platform for searching, creating and
adapting articles in organizations, as this technology has unique features such as
collaborative authorship, instant publication, versioning and simplicity of authorship
(Veronese and Chaves, 2016). Lee and Bonk (2014, p. 14) estimate that wiki is the
preferred collaboration tool (40 per cent) in the workplace, and Parker and Chao (2007)
emphasize on the potential use of wikis to enhance learning.
The selected research setting was Servco (code name). Servco is smaller than many of
its international competitors and has its resources geographically distributed between
24 laboratories and offices in 18 countries. Servco offers third-party safety testing and
certification of electrical equipment and operates in all three globalization zones
(Americas, Euro-Africa and Asia-Pacific). Work at this firm is project-based, and the
ability to leverage learning among experts in different projects is closely linked to their
performance (Breunig and Hydle, 2013). Moreover, the organization has chosen English Global
as a common corporate language to ease communication and sharing of documentation workplace
between its subsidiaries. Development of necessary expertise requires a master’s degree
in engineering, followed by a two-year internal apprenticeship program before being
learning
allowed to manage projects independently. Thus, workplace learning is the chosen
method of acquiring necessary skills and competence. The challenge, however, is that
Servco’s senior experts work at different offices around the globe, and the opportunity to 255
reflect on experiences with senior colleagues is limited because of the distributed nature
of this organization. Consequently, increased attention has been given to the internal
wiki to enable virtual collaboration and experience sharing between colleagues that are
geographically separated. The implemented wiki system in Servco does not differ
significantly from wikis implemented in other organizations. However, the wiki pages
available at the organization’s intranet also offer blog functionality. The blog offers
opportunities to publish and discuss opinions and experiences related to the wiki
articles. Prior to the wiki implementation, the international collaboration was limited to
e-mail exchanges, phone calls and discussions over Skype. The organization had also
recently launched a shared document management system where client information,
contracts and project reports were made available across the whole organization.
However, this technology did not facilitate knowledge sharing and exchange of
project-based experiences. The intention with implementing a wiki system in Servco is
rapid access to stored knowledge. This global professional service firm with an explicit
need to coordinate global experts learning through virtual collaboration with a wiki
system was selected for the study, as extant research indicate that wikis increasingly are
the preferred collaboration tools in organizations, and this virtual collaboration offers
opportunities for increased workplace learning.
The main objective of this research was to examine how individuals conduct daily
work, communicate with colleagues, document experiences and search for knowledge
within the global organization with particular emphasis on how the wiki enabled virtual
collaboration and learning (see Appendix for full details of the questionnaire guide). The
unit of analysis was an intra-firm knowledge-sharing practice through the wiki system.
Data were gathered from 35 semi-structured interviews with managers, project leaders,
engineers, wiki project members, and sales personnel at 12 locations (Oslo, Kjeller,
Milano, Karlsruhe, London, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Taipei, Seoul, San Diego, Dallas and
Ottawa). Selection of informants was conducted carefully to ensure representativeness
with regard to age, role, gender and geographic region. The Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) contributed to the participation of employees by posting a message about the
research project to assess the wiki implementation but was not directly involved in
selecting individual informants. The researcher subsequently contacted the informants
directly by e-mail and decided on individual interviews. Each interview lasted
approximately 1 h, and none of the contacted informants declined the opportunity to
speak their mind about the implementation process. Everyone in the organization had
used the wiki, but the degree of involvement varied among selected informants. The
researcher also examined documents (including financial reports, presidential decisions,
project plans and organizational and global bi-annual surveys) and conducted
participant observation (including visits to laboratories and participation in company
meetings). In total, 29 interviews were conducted using Skype, and 6 interviews were
conducted face to face; all interviews were recorded and transcribed.
TLO The coding of the data progressed in several stages. Initially the data were coded and
23,4 summarized in a PowerPoint format. The aim of this stage of the analysis was to obtain
a broad understanding of knowledge-sharing practices and use of the wiki system
within this professional service firm. Summaries of initial findings were then presented
to selected Servco employees and managers in a workshop to validate the veracity of the
data and enhance the reliability of the analysis (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Second, the
256 data were examined in light of the research question, specifically considering how
the wiki enabled virtual collaboration to contribute to workplace learning extending
beyond the local setting. Third, the data were recoded utilizing the six factors of
workplace learning identified by Eraut (2004). This is the framework acknowledged by
Sawchuk (2008) as best suited to operationalize workplace learning among
professionals. The framework for the conception of workplace learning distinguishes
between context factors and learning factors (Figure 1).
The framework to assess workplace learning consists of two triangles, one for
learning factors and one for context factors. The framework identifies three learning
factors (challenges and value of work; feedback and support; and confidence and
commitment) and three context factors (allocation and structure of work; encounters
and relationships; and individual participation and expectations of their performance
and progress). In each triangle, the left apex relates to the work itself, the right apex to
relationships and the lowest apex to the individual worker (Eraut et al., 2004, Eraut,
2004).
After coding the data according to these six dimensions, the findings were compared
with the extant theory to extend knowledge of the use of social media in the leveraging
of learning in multiple local project settings that are geographically dispersed. Below,
the findings are presented according to the six factors suggested in the workplace
learning framework by Eraut (2004).

Findings
The employees use the wiki primarily to publish brief descriptions about technological
issues, that is, on how to conduct a certain type of project assignment. The integrated
blog function also enables questions or clarifications to be visible to all the users of the
system. The study reveals how this use enables collaboration between internationally
distributed colleagues and results in workplace learning extending the local context.

Figure 1.
Framework for
workplace learning
Learning factors in virtual collaboration Global
Challenges and value of work. Formal arenas for knowledge and experience sharing workplace
existed locally; for example, local technical meetings were held weekly. The
development of individual skills and experiences occurred mainly in daily project work
learning
and was linked to the perception of being “good at work”. Thus, learning was
predominantly informal and intimately linked to the work being conducted in
collaboration with other colleagues through small talk, mentoring/junior-senior 257
learning, in daily work. This environment involving learning through collaboration
with colleagues is exceptional; some employees left Servco to work for competitors but
returned because of the lack of learning opportunities.
The employees individually documenting experiences from dispersed projects into
the wiki system. Subsequently this information was utilized in search for information or
to identify colleagues with a particular expertise. Moreover, the willingness to use the
wiki system and share searchable information within it was motivated by the need for
additional knowledge when conducting project tasks locally. The ability to coordinate
globally dispersed expertise and link it to local individuals was often of great
importance to resolve issues that emerged in testing projects. However, many
informants stated that they did not necessarily search the wiki system for encyclopedic
information but used it to identify individual experts whom they could contact
directly; if such an interaction was beneficial, they created a short wiki post explaining
the issues addressed. In addition to allowing direct searches for project-related
knowledge and experience, some informants pointed out that the system offers
opportunities to increase individual learning.
Feedback and support. Prior to implementation of the wiki system, e-mail was the
firm’s main knowledge-sharing, communication and coordination tool. Previously,
many e-mail exchanges excluded people who might benefit from their content, as
engineers recorded discussions by storing relevant e-mails and later forwarding them to
others facing similar challenges. However, old e-mail chains can be outdated, and the
quality of their content is more difficult to assure when the exchange was not
transparent and open. Part of the motivation behind the wiki initiative was to avoid
these e-mail loops, but it also had several other effects concerning knowledge sharing
and interaction among globally distributed colleagues. The wiki enabled virtual
collaboration instead of e-mail exchanges between colleagues who had never met face to
face. Collaboration resulted in learning, that is, informants explained how they had
suddenly realized how to conduct a certain calculation. Thus, informants acknowledged
that the use of the system was beneficial when responding to questions posed by
employees at other subsidiaries, as it offered greater transparency in the cross-unit
exchange of knowledge and experience than did one-to-one interactions via e-mail,
telephone or Skype.
Confidence and commitment. Several informants emphasized on the wiki system’s
ability to enable several geographically dispersed experts to share information from
local project experiences in an interactive and transparent manner. However, they
expressed concerns about the quality of information available on the wiki system, rather
than the lack of confidence in colleagues’ possession of the necessary skills and
experience.
Such concerns existed before wiki system implementation, but informants felt that a
wiki post in response to a question differed qualitatively from addressing the
TLO complexities of a project by telephone or face to face. Informants’ main motivation for
23,4 spending time posting on wiki was the recognition of their expertise in other offices,
which they felt increased the possibility of and eligibility for participation in interesting
projects within their areas of expertise. In addition, several informants expressed that a
few barriers had to be overcome to use the wiki system.
Summary of observed learning factors. The learning factors suggested by Eraut
258 (2004) were observed in Servco when virtual collaboration was enabled through the
implementation of an internal wiki system. First, learning occurs as part of project
assignments when individuals collaborate to solve daily challenges. Second, this
collaboration can be both local and virtual. The wiki system increases transparency and
enables individuals to identify colleagues to collaborate with beyond the local context.
Third, the use of the system for virtual collaboration requires that there is a low
technological barrier, and the motivation to share knowledge in the system is linked to
the opportunity to market one’s own expertise and confidence in the accuracy of the
information it contains (Table I).

Context factors in virtual collaboration

Allocation and structure of work. As Servco is an internationally distributed
organization delivering projects locally, but with different expertise among offices,
collaboration across borders is required. Moreover, the organization strives to utilize
capacity across local offices; thus, international colleagues might be allocated to projects
across the globe. Data from this study revealed consensus on the need for a tool to
integrate knowledge and collaboration across Servco’s distributed project
environments. Prior to the implementation of the wiki, several colleagues did update
each other and replied to questions by e-mailing each other. These e-mails where stored
locally by each engineer and forwarded to others if relevant to other colleagues. The
result was a system with limited transparency and potentially outdated information.
When the wiki system was launched, Servco managers communicated how it would fit
within the existing knowledge management policy and described its perceived benefits.
Managers also pointed out that the competitiveness of the Servco group relied on an
effective and efficient utilization of its globally distributed resource base.
Encounters and relationships. There exists a general positive attitude toward helping
one another and sharing knowledge, and informants acknowledge that the organization
would benefit further from increased knowledge sharing and collaboration among its
subsidiaries. However, many informants admitted the benefit of personal relationships
with people before interacting and exchanging knowledge and experience via social
media. Before wiki implementation, searches for project-related knowledge and
experience began locally and extended to other subsidiaries when necessary. Contact
with other subsidiaries was often based on individual social networks and characterized
by face-to-face or e-mail interaction. The search for knowledge always started locally,
before the involvement of international colleagues. Prior to the wiki launch, employees’
knowledge about the potential expertise offered at other Servco subsidiaries was
limited. Informants felt that the true utility of the wiki system lay in its reduction of the
prior need for an internal social network, as the system enables one to post questions for
others to answer or search for a particular expertise.
Individual participation and expectations of their performance and progress.
Expectations for the wiki tool were high in relation to the opportunity for virtual
Quotes describing learning factors
Global
workplace
Challenges and value “Many of the challenges we face in the projects are so complex and context learning
of work specific that I will not find a ready-made answer at the wiki or in any
internally available database”
“Others use it for knowledge sharing. I would use wiki to learn something
new about a new topic”
“I learn by being thrown in at the deep end . . . and incidental experience, I
259
know what I know now, 80% due to experience and talking to people, 20%
due to training”
“We share more . . . when we are working on a project”
“It was not the same learning environment there, so I decided to return”
“The learning happens in daily work situations, but the knowledge base
has traditionally been viewed as being exclusively in Norway HQ”
“There are many people involved in finding the right person/expertise”
“Questions are not necessarily targeted to the person in charge”
Feedback and support “I use wiki, it is new . . . , but it is good for technical issues to ask questions
and everybody can see the question”
“If someone posts something, I can see any changes made . . . it’s kind of
nice because there is one place to go to instead of e-mails”
“Oh, this is how I calculate this”
“Not in an active way, but I take a lot of information from wiki: directives,
technical questions related to new rules, discussions etc”
“My e-mail box is my database . . . I have access many years back,
remember and can look through and refer to that if there are questions”
Confidence and “We need to be sure that the information is right and useful . . . it should
commitment not lead to uncertainty . . . therefore items should be verified”
“We would need someone responsible . . . going through the content.
Somebody could monitor the wiki . . . have some way to give an approval
stamp”
“I feel that it needs to be quality assured, perfect before posting on the
web, not the same as a phone call”
“The main motivation for spending time posting stuff at the wiki is that
my expertise gets recognised in other offices. This increases my
possibilities and eligibility of participation in interesting projects within
my area of expertise”
“. . . only the good feeling you get from helping people”
“It is important to have recognition”
“It is linked to one’s own reputation” Table I.
“The wiki system is easy to use, it only took 5 min’s introduction, and then Evidence of learning
I was ready to use the system” factors in Servco

collaboration and had a positive impact on the degree of cross-border collaboration.

Moreover, the wiki increased the sense of organizational membership among
geographically dispersed employees as the expertise of globally dispersed colleagues
became more visible. Information about the wiki system was communicated well;
everyone knew about and applauded the initiative. Informants expressed that the
individual-level benefit of the wiki system use was related to the quality and availability
of knowledge relevant to the ongoing project, thus enabling virtual collaboration and the
opportunity to learn from a larger pool of colleagues.
TLO Summary of observed context factors. The context factors observed in the Servo case
23,4 resemble those suggested by Eraut (2004), with the condition that the pool of colleagues
with which one interacts was extended beyond the local setting when virtual
collaboration was enabled through the wiki system. First, the wiki system enables
virtual collaboration between individuals that are working across different
geographical locations in the organization. Second, the wiki system requires less prior
260 relationships with colleagues working in other offices and, thus, increases the ability to
identify colleagues with relevant expertise. Third, the increased visibility of expertise
across the organization resulted in a stronger sense of organizational membership
(Table II).

Discussion
This study documented Servco’s experiences with the implementation of an internal
wiki system by examining how this form of social media was utilized to leverage local
learning among dispersed individual experts within the global organization. The
study’s findings show that all the identified learning and context factors of workplace
learning (Eraut et al., 2004) are achieved also when collaboration is extended beyond
face-to-face interaction in the local setting by utilization of social media. Moreover, this
perspective on learning accentuates individuals as crucial sources of knowledge and,
thus, differs from learning theories based on an acquisition metaphor. At Servco, the
wiki increased the opportunity for virtual collaboration and search for people with
relevant expertise, extending the pool of people with whom to interact beyond the local
setting but without jeopardizing the workplace learning factors outlined in previous
research.
In particular, the study reveals how an international knowledge-based organization
can utilize social media to leverage knowledge and experiences from multiple
geographically dispersed projects. In the case of Servco, the implementation of a
company-specific wiki system enabled increased explication and sharing of
project-specific information that would otherwise remain only locally available. Given
the highly specialized nature of this firm’s projects, standardized solutions available
through codified knowledge repositories would have been less useful than the wiki
system for ongoing projects. In this context, engineering professionals require updated
information and problem-based collaboration, creating particular incentives to seek and
share knowledge internally. The wiki system enables employees to submit categorized
articles on current technical issues. Moreover, the chosen technology also enables
searchable documentation, unlike a video conference system (Johnson et al., 2001, Veng
Seng et al., 2002, Kydd and Ferry, 1994), which enables direct interaction but not the
recording and searching functions of the wiki (Shepherd, 2011). The interactive format
of the wiki system increases transparency and enables visualization of the expertise of
different professionals in globally dispersed locations. Individuals used wiki mainly to
determine “who knows” and to identify people whom they could approach directly. The
result is lateral knowledge exchanges linked to the challenges emerging during daily
work on dispersed projects.
The system enabled individuals to connect with colleagues that they previously did
not know. However, informants also revealed that previously established relationships
affected the way they approached internationally dispersed colleagues and how they
interpreted their responses. Thus, conscious investment in organizational social capital
Quotes describing context factors
Global
workplace
Allocation and structure “Servco has really done a good job spreading the resource base around, for learning
of work instance, in San Diego the expertise is medical and in Dallas it is
telecommunication”
“What the client need . . . is the competence we possess at the different
offices . . . thus I don’t have all the answers, but need to have conference
calls with clients where key people from all our offices join us”
261
“The top management at HQ was adamant that since we have several
specialisations across locations, these would benefit from knowledge
sharing tools going beyond e-mails or one-to-one communication”
“We need more common documents so that all laboratories have the same
way to do things . . . quality systems, work instructions, test instructions . . .
now each lab has their documents and procedures”
Encounters and “I feel that the sharing of knowledge is very important and we need to
relationships improve that inside the Servco group, we will work more efficient if
knowledge sharing is effective”
“Without transparency, you are missing the richness of the company . . .
look at the experience”
“When we cannot find answers locally, then we search wiki”
“Since the Ottawa office is a small community, it is important that this is
visible on wiki”
“In my local office, I know what everyone does . . . outside our office, I only
know a couple of persons”
“I build a network through asking colleagues if they know someone . . .
now it is possible to post a question and see if a relevant resource offers its
help or refers me to someone relevant”
“We use all the ways: first we try to answer ourselves, then we ask local
colleagues, then international colleagues”
“What I use the company ICT systems for is to identify people in other
offices with experience that might be beneficial to the challenge I face in
my project. I then contact them directly, mostly over Skype. If the
interaction provides a solution to my project, I post what we did at the
wiki for others’ reference later”
“To know people, having met them is important . . . often I experience how
I gained an understanding of their competence through meeting them
physically”
“. . . previously we had anonymized as an expat here, and he could
introduce me to competent people in Oslo or San Diego, that was always
very helpful”
Individual participation “Wiki – a common group thing . . . it would bring up our technical ability”
and expectations of “If you use it, you will see the benefits of it”
their performance and “Prior to the wiki, we did not work together and only had sporadic contact . . .
progress we did not have anything in common, not even an annual event or something”
“The efficiency increases since we share knowledge. No one is holding
back knowledge. . . . I am always someone who shares”
“Knowledge sharing improves everyone”
“I used to receive about 10-15 e-mails a week to which I needed to provide Table II.
for a clear or correct answer . . . I needed to use an hour for each to be able Evidence of context
to answer” factors in Servco
TLO can be a relevant consideration for practitioners implementing virtual collaboration
23,4 tools, such as an internal wiki. The information available in the system is related to
ongoing work tasks and is interactive and updated. The primary concern of system use
is not searchability for standardized solutions, but transparent documentation of
individuals’ expertise. Users can then approach these individuals personally. Therefore,
the system enables both individual knowledge sharing and learning related to ongoing
262 project assignments. The system also has a blog function with the opportunity to post
questions on project-related issues. The benefit of this blog is that all questions and
answers are open to other employees, in contrast to the one-to-one functionality of
e-mail-based collaboration. Consequently, the wiki system in Servco offers both
immediate and postponed (or stored) information transfer such as that described by
Leonardi et al. (2013).
In addition, the wiki system facilitates increased transparency of procedures,
routines and practices across the organizations’ distributed projects. The wiki system
facilitates virtual collaboration by extending the pool of expertise available in the
organization when challenges emerge in projects. This is especially important for junior
engineers when acquiring the skills necessary to become an independent expert. An
example was the engineer who realized how a certain calculation was done after
consulting a wiki article. However, there are also examples of how more senior engineers
utilize the wiki as a source to interpret international standards when they manage
projects involving technical expertise that other subsidiaries have more experience in.
The wiki system, thus, facilitates socialization into professional norms and values by
enabling documentation of competence and experiences through interaction and
knowledge exchange. Accordingly, the wiki system constitutes a hybrid knowledge
management strategy that combines both a codified knowledge management strategy
and a personalized knowledge management strategy (Hansen et al., 1999). The wiki
provides searchable codified knowledge linked to the individuals that created the wiki
post. These individuals are easy to identify and contact. Thus, the wiki effectively
combines elements of codification and personalization in virtual collaboration that leads
to virtual collaboration and workplace learning. The study demonstrates that this
collaboration involves, but extends beyond, knowledge transfer in an information and
communication technology system and yet involves all the identified factors of
workplace learning as determined by (Eraut, 2004).
The findings also reveal how much the human factor counts. Despite a growing
interest in technology-enhanced learning (e.g. e-learning), the informants express that
they have limited faith in de-contextualized information in an impersonalized system.
The benefit of the wiki system is that it provides access also to the individuals that
posted the information. Moreover, credit is given to the individuals that take the effort to
document their experiences into the system. The fact that the wiki posts are associated
with individuals gives credibility to the quality of information and opportunity to
contact directly to share tacit knowledge. The use of the wiki system is also related to
what Cyert and March (1963, p. 169) refer to as problemistic search, that is, the searching
for a solution to a specific problem. This search often starts locally and is expanded until
an answer is found. The wiki ensures that knowledge from other offices is included in
these searches. The study, thus, reveals how social media, such as wiki, can facilitate
learning among highly specialized and globally distributed knowledge workers within
a single firm.
Conclusion Global
The study revealed that both learning and context factors of workplace learning were workplace
achieved when the collaboration, communication and knowledge sharing occurred
within a social media platform such as wiki. The contribution of the paper is contesting
learning
the assumption in extant literature on situated, informal and workplace learning that
this practice-based learning is constricted by learning situations occurring in physical
and real-time interaction. The findings of the study reveal how a wiki system can 263
facilitate workplace learning through virtual collaboration without being performed
synchronously or being co-located. Concomitantly, the study bridges research on
organizational utilization of social media with established frameworks for the factors
involved in workplace learning, showing how new social media can facilitate informal
learning between colleagues that are geographically separated and collaborating
asynchronously because of, for example, time zone differences. The study corroborates
the suggestion that professional service firms are types of firms that potentially can
benefit the most from social media utilization to cultivate virtual collaboration within
globally distributed professional service firms and their ability to support workplace
learning beyond local face-to-face interactions.
The implication to theory is the creation of a bridge between established frameworks
for workplace learning and the emerging body of research on social media. The study is,
thus, a demonstration of how previously identified learning and context factors of
informal learning in the workplace are also applicable to virtual collaboration through
social media. The system extends the access to relevant expertise beyond the local
context and contributes to developing a better sense of organizational membership.
Moreover, in relation to context factors, the wiki case reveals how virtual collaboration
expands the pool of available resources and extends the context beyond the local setting.
However, previously established relationships also appear to influence trust when
collaborating virtually; thus, a conscious effort to build internal social capital might
improve the effectiveness of wiki utilization. This also relates to the emphasis in recent
literature (Short, 2014) on building and development of trust in workplace learning,
particularly in a virtual context.
The implication to practice is that case is an illustration of how organizations can
implement and utilize opportunities offered by social media. As such, the study shows
how utilization of social media can promote hybrid knowledge management strategies
in organizations, as codified knowledge can be searched to identify individuals with
expertise and tacit knowledge that can be approached directly. Consequently, the wiki
system observed in Servco enables a hybrid knowledge management strategy linked to
virtual collaboration on daily project tasks, involving documentation, search,
interaction and knowledge exchange, as well as socialization and learning from practice
among dispersed groups and individuals. In particular, the case illustrates how the
implemented wiki system can be considered as a hybrid knowledge management
strategy. On the one hand, the wiki is allowing for codified knowledge that can be
searched and transferred between different geographical locations. On the other hand, it
can be considered a personalization of tacit knowledge providing a link to colleagues
that can be directly approached for collaboration and knowledge sharing to solve
specific challenges. The implications of this study are especially important for
knowledge-intensive firms, where a high proportion of work is organized in different
projects and where performance is linked to a problem-solving logic and the continuous
TLO development of individual skills and competences. Thus, this study reveals how a wiki
23,4 system should not be perceived merely as another source of internal information; it
allows users to interact by posing questions and providing answers related to ongoing
project challenges and enables virtual collaboration across local settings.
The study also reveals determinants for wiki use that may be of value for
practitioners implementing such social media tools to foster virtual collaboration. First,
264 wiki use was linked to daily work carried out in the context of the organization’s projects
by offering interactive and updated information concerning current project challenges.
Other organizations that implement an internal wiki for knowledge sharing and
workplace learning should emphasize that it is linked to the performance of daily tasks
and enables increased transparency of the practice of these tasks between dispersed
employees. Second, wiki users were willing to spend time documenting project
experiences in the system, as they perceived that it would increase the visibility and
recognition of their expertise. Thus, selected social media implemented to increase an
organization’s ability to manage knowledge should be linked to ongoing work activities
and particularly support virtual collaboration. Third, wiki use is attractive because of
the transparency of the system in relation to individual expertise, that is, searchability of
information related to ongoing activities, rather than the ability to search for
standardized solutions. Finally, confidence in the wiki system requires quality
assurance monitoring of data posted.
Although this study confirms that workplace learning can be achieved beyond local
face-to-face interaction, a considerable limitation is that it is only conducted in one
organization. However, this study only included an in-depth case of wiki
implementation in one globally dispersed project organization. The small sample of
informants in this study also expressed that the wiki system implementation in Servco
was a success. Members of other organizations might experience such an
implementation very differently. Consequently, further research is required to
generalize based upon these findings. Future research could also seek to identify how
effective virtual workplace learning is compared to face-to-face workplace learning or
compare wikis to other types of social media or compare other types of social media to
other collaboration tools such as video conferencing to provide evidence on the
comparative strengths of different types of technologies on workplace learning.
Moreover, further research could seek to identify which organizational capabilities,
structures or abilities are necessary to adapt an internal wiki and explore the
relationship between different cultures and wiki use in internationally distributed
organizations. Although further research is required to claim generalizability of these
findings, the presented study can guide future research and practice.

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Appendix Global
Questionnaire guide for semi-structured interviews, length approx. 1 hour.
• Name:
workplace
• Function: learning
• Place:
• Skype/Phone/Meeting
Date:
Time:

Questions Topic Goal

269
Introduction Introduction Ease of
- Briefly about the research project - cooperation with : situation
Servco
- The use of the interview
- Signed non-disclosure agreement with Servco,
guarantee for anonymity of the informant
- Semi-structured interview, you are the expert, my
questioner is more to facilitate a dialogue
Can you start by telling a bit about your self; Education, Individual General
Career and functions in Servco or with other employers? information
Since when are you working with Adm/EMC/Safety/Sales about the
etc? informant

Which type of competence do you need to perform your The daily Daily
daily tasks/projects? working work
Who do you normally/eventually ask/who normally ask you situation support
when in need to get knowledge to perform daily tasks?
How do you develop your competence? Courses? Mentor?
Continually?
Describe a situation where you contacted someone at another Transnation Internation
location in Servco in order to seek advice. al al work
+ A situation where you were contacted by someone from knowledge support
another location in order to have your advice. sharing

Describe a situation/example where you share work with Transnation Internation

someone else at another location in Servco al work al work
sharing sharing
Which situations do you share knowledge with others/learn Knowledge Situations
from others? sharing of
- Sales knowledge
- Consulting with the client sharing
- New projects
- Special projects (describe type of)
- Use of new test methods
- Cooperation with experienced colleagues
- Formal training/Courses (Formal training/certification for
certain tasks)
- Self study
How do you share your experiences? Knowledge How
How do you learn from the experiences of your colleagues? sharing knowledge
Which colleagues do you most often share with? sharing
Would you like to share experiences with others, who? occur
Do you know who does what in Servco? Internal Transparent
How do your learning in daily work/experiences affect the openness
organisation? organisation
Do you have an overview of what is happening in Servco
generally?
Do you feel/think that you can say what you really mean/is Internal Transparent
there a culture for being open in Servco? openness
organisation

What are the incentives for sharing knowledge in Servco? Incentives Incentives
(Internally known as expert/Performance reviews/symbolic/ for
more responsibility?) knowledge
sharing
(continued)
TLO
23,4 Which tools do you use for knowledge sharing and why?
- Email
Knowledge
sharing
- Phone tools
- Skype
- Intranet
- Wiki
How do you use the wiki? Wiki use The Wiki
270 What do you use the wiki for? (example?)
In which situations would you use the wiki in the future?
space Light/
Safety/EMC
Did the wiki help cooperation/knowledge sharing? /Telecom
What would it take for the wiki to be a useful tool for Direct:
knowledge sharing and learning?
Describe the use of wiki in your area?
What do you think of: The wiki Improvements
- Structure/Content:
- As a tool for knowledge sharing
- Process of developing the wiki
- Inserting content
- Incentives for use
- Incentives for inserting content
- Others?
Are other tools more useful? Learning Alternative
- NEX? tools sources of
- Intranet? knowledge:
- Test methods?
- Standards (online)?
- Administrative routines?
- Other?
Do you personally know the others involved? Would it be Social Knowing
different of you knew/did not know them from before? relations each other
Is there a culture for being risk averse in Servco? Are people Culture Transparency
open for doing mistakes? Can you stand for your own
opinions in the organisation?
What would it take for the wiki to be used all the time? Potentials Future
Generally, do you often use skype/chat/ blogs/wikis for other Tech level Comfort
means?
How could Servco become more transparent globally, in the Future Transparency
future?
Anything else you would like to say? Critics Open

About the author

Karl Joachim Breunig is a Full Professor at Oslo Business School, Oslo and Akershus University
College, Norway. He received PhD in strategic management from BI Norwegian Business School
and holds an MSc from London School of Economics. His research concentrates on organizing,
managing and measuring knowledge work and innovation in international professional service
firms. Karl Joachim Breunig can be contacted at: karl.joachim.breunig@hioa.no

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