Information Sharing and Knowledge Creation in Online Forums: The Case of the Greek Online Forum ‘DIALOGOI’

The information intensiveness of service firms coupled with the necessity to manage knowledge in the new economic era, render knowledge management initiatives critical for achieving competitive advantage. This case study identifies and analyses the social networking and knowledge creation capabilities and affordances of online forums to support tourism professionals. After reviewing the literature on knowledge creation, social networking and virtual communities, the case presents the social networking, information sharing, knowledge creation and idea generation capabilities of peer-to-peer virtual communities. The research methodology is explained, and the findings are presented. Finally, the practical implications are discussed and directions for future research are also provided.