Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Maurizio Massaro and Roland Bardy
incredible as users give us precious information for free and we can use this to get a better
understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> market”. Table 4 gives a description <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> topics that were discussed.
Analyzing <strong>the</strong> data <strong>of</strong> tables 2,3 and 4 we apprehend <strong>the</strong> significant impact that BNS creates on <strong>the</strong>:
Knowledge acquisition process. New knowledge (o<strong>the</strong>rwise not available) is acquired. Cost is
reduced for some activities for acquiring information that would be available in o<strong>the</strong>r ways only
through expensive procedures and effectiveness generally improves;
Knowledge selection process. BNSs can help companies, customers and experts to discover
knowledge that is not available o<strong>the</strong>rwise by using tools like FAQ, search engine tools and by
accessing forums and o<strong>the</strong>r sections <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Web;
Knowledge generation process. BNSs can help companies with <strong>the</strong> generation <strong>of</strong> new ideas
through discussion groups, using, e.g. beta tester tools;
Knowledge assimilation process. BNSs can help companies in <strong>the</strong> assimilation process by
improving <strong>the</strong> ways to store and distribute knowledge;
Knowledge emission process. BNSs can help companies in <strong>the</strong> emission process by creating new
channels <strong>of</strong> communication.
5. Conclusions
This paper deals with a project <strong>of</strong> Buzz Network Strategy (BNS) that was carried out in several
leading Italian companies collectively known by <strong>the</strong> name <strong>of</strong> ”Kid’s Space”. BNSs are defined as
strategies that involve <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> web 2.0 solutions in a network perspective in order to
create a word-<strong>of</strong>-mouth effect which companies could use for several aims. The case study shows
that BNSs can serve to obtain: communication effects; product/service development effects; market
development effects.
The study employed a <strong>the</strong>oretical framework for analyzing <strong>the</strong> Knowledge Management (KM) process
using <strong>the</strong> Holsapple’s model. Through a qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews,
<strong>the</strong> paper tries to analyze how BNSs are affecting <strong>the</strong> KM process <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> companies included in <strong>the</strong>
sample. The main questions focus on: what kind <strong>of</strong> knowledge; who is <strong>the</strong> originator and <strong>the</strong> user <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> knowledge; how is knowledge acquired, selected, generated, assimilated and emitted. The overall
purpose <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research is to identify <strong>the</strong> main effects produced by <strong>the</strong> BNS on <strong>the</strong> whole KM process.
Our results show an important effect <strong>of</strong> BNS on <strong>the</strong> KM process. The main effects are acquisition <strong>of</strong>
knowledge o<strong>the</strong>rwise not available and higher effectiveness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> selection and generation process.
Ano<strong>the</strong>r important impact is on <strong>the</strong> assimilation and emission process. A general cost reduction can
be expected for <strong>the</strong>se activities and it is seen that a more formalized approach will develop on <strong>the</strong> use
<strong>of</strong> knowledge that is embedded in databases and o<strong>the</strong>r data structures.
Fur<strong>the</strong>r research might be pursued into <strong>the</strong> issue <strong>of</strong> continuous learning: What can <strong>the</strong> members <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> project (or any o<strong>the</strong>r buzz-strategist) glean from <strong>the</strong> experience gained in <strong>the</strong> network? Learning
organizations and knowledge management are to be seen as interlinked and <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>the</strong> next step
<strong>of</strong> our research would deal with <strong>the</strong> intellectual capital and <strong>the</strong> intangible assets which <strong>the</strong> member
companies build through <strong>the</strong> project. Also, based on our model, more quantitative and longitudinal
studies could be conducted so that more dynamic learning-based knowledge management practices
may be explored.
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