Knowledge flow and gains in professional global social networks

Purpose – In today's society, knowledge is the most important capital and it is difficult to control. Knowledge is increasingly obtained outside the company. Social networks have taken the lead because they allow the exchange of information in real time. The aim of this study is to determine if the exchange of knowledge in the professional social network LinkedIn group for Java affects the overall knowledge gain for professional work, depending on the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, regional affiliation and professional requirements, further motivation and frequency of use of the network and the way they perceive the amount of their knowledge. Design/methodology/approach–Research is performed as follows: the survey was designed and performed on LinkedIn, the biggest global professional network, among participants of Java programming language professionals. We collected N=448 valid questionnaires from the respondents from India 37.7%, 30.9% from North America, 18.6% from Europe and other regions (12.8%), that properly represent the whole population of these group members. Data analysis (descriptive statistics) and data mining was performed. Data mining models by applying knowledge trees and linear regression were made and gave more insight into patterns. Originality/value–This research represents the most comprehensive research of knowledge sharing in professional social networks, because others have focused only on particular subgroups of variables covered here. We have conducted research, for the first time, on the gains obtained by knowledge sharing between professionals, while additional value is provided by identification of the most important factors in this process. Research provides an insight into how global processes of knowledge sharing work in the professional social network, how processes are affected by the socio-demographic data. Research has given an answer to the question of who has the highest benefit from this process. Practical implications–Technical skills and culture of knowledge sharing of Java technology groups on the LinkedIn social networks is a pioneering process that will be developed for other professionals in future decades. The participants’ region had very little influence on the benefits gained, so these networks contribute to globalization. Gains are influenced by the intensity of use and the quality of knowledge, giving directions to the social networks service providers. Satisfaction with certain services on this professional network, compared with the satisfaction with other (non-professional) social networks is lower, which indicates the potential of this domain and need for development and research.