Distributed knowledge management: Four interesting questions

The world we live in continues to expand on a number of distributed dimensions. Most notably, work in organizations is commonly handled in distributed settings. Expertise needed to conduct work is also distributed across geographical regions. The recent surge in offshore outsourcing is testament to the sophistication of distributed engagements. Distributed work has implications for knowledge management programs in organizations. Specifically, an organization must not only be able to show competency in leveraging knowledge within a locality, but must be also able to effectively and efficiently move knowledge across localities. Successful distributed knowledge management is a critical determinant of competitive advantages. In this mini-track, we are pleased to introduce four papers that discuss varying aspects of distributed knowledge management. The first paper Reputation Systems is by Gail L. Rein. Gail uses a UML based view to discuss how reputation systems can be developed and managed in organizations. This is an important step toward the recognition of reputation a measurable and explicit attribute; it does so using several determinants, such as knowledge, experience, credentials, endorsees, connections and others. In a distributed environment, reputation can make a difference on how other people seek knowledge.