The Role of Knowledge Intermediaries in the Management of Experience Knowledge

Effectively collecting, sharing and cultivating experience‐based knowledge in work organisations is demanding. As the challenges are getting more intensive, there is a need for dedicated personnel who are able to steer, enable and support knowledge sharing activities. In the knowledge management literature, these types of individuals may be characterised as knowledge intermediaries . This paper presents results from an empirical study of an inquiry into the work tasks of knowledge intermediaries. The study focused on exploring the challenges and demands knowledge intermediaries experienced in enabling experience knowledge sharing and reuse. The study was conducted in two industrial enterprises that both manufacture complex machinery products and provide after sales installation and maintenance services for the machines at clients' sites. Empirical data were collected through interviews with technical support personnel who serve as knowledge intermediaries in after sales services. The study analyses and describes prototypical activity episodes that illustrate the nature of knowledge intermediary work and the information interaction challenges faced in their work. Typical demands and challenges for the management of experience knowledge include the following: (i) problem space assembly and narrowing in urgent support request situations; (ii) assembly of the hidden experience‐based knowledge; and (iii) new component and product knowledge acquisition and updating. The paper contributes to the understanding of the needs for and practices of knowledge intermediaries, and it offers some guidelines for the enhancement of experience knowledge sharing in workplaces. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.