Holistic perspectives of information sharing and knowledge exchange: selected frameworks and their use

Surprisingly, there is very little literature available that is specifically concerned with the concept of "information sharing", despite the fact that its significance is widely and without restriction acknowledged throughout the (mostly Anglo-American) literature on knowledge management and organisational learning. It is the aim of this paper to provide a review – from a predominantly European perspective – that allows an overall evaluation of the state of the literature on this subject. After an introductory definition and limitation of the concepts involved, they are illustrated with the use of a set of models – selected predominantly for their link to empirical research. They are summarised and evaluated with their potential for providing a basis for future research. The empirical grounding of the models makes it possible to view them as partial investigations contributing individual elements of a more overarching research framework into which future studies may be integrated. In conclusion, the frameworks are further categorised with a view as to the type of knowledge for which they would be of maximum utility.