MG5594 Knowledge Management, Social Networks & Innovation

Individual Coursework Assignment

Module Leader: Prof Ray Hackney

Distribution Date: January 2026

Submission Deadline: 12:00 noon, March 2026 (official deadline)

Feedback Release: April 2026

Contribution to overall module assessment: 100%

Indicative student time on task: 122 hours

Word limit: 2500 words (excluding references, tables, figures, appendices)

Assessment type: Individual formal report

Assignment Objective

Produce a formal individual report that analyses how knowledge management (KM) initiatives, particularly those embedded in social media and social network technologies, can drive business innovation within an organisation of your choice.

Task Description

Identify and analyse one real organisation (private sector, public sector, or not-for-profit). Examine how the organisation can (or already does) use social media/social networks as a vehicle for knowledge creation, sharing, and exploitation to generate innovation.

Your report must explicitly address four integrated elements:

1. Organisational learning approach adopted or recommended
2. Social media / social network development and adoption
3. Knowledge management features and processes enabled by social technologies
4. Opportunities created for subsequent business innovation

Draw on relevant theory (organisational learning, KM models, innovation frameworks, social capital, absorptive capacity, etc.) and support your analysis with evidence from the chosen organisation and from wider research.

Assessment Criteria & Learning Outcomes

The assignment assesses the following learning outcomes:

1. Critically discuss the nature and process of knowledge creation and transfer within organisations
2. Critically evaluate how organisational and social dynamics combine to engender innovation
3. Analyse the application of concepts and theories related to new ‘social network’ technologies
4. Present theoretical and empirical evidence to address complex problems and practical situations in relation to knowledge management and innovation development

Submission Requirements

• Submit electronically via WISEflow in PDF format only
• File name = Student ID number (e.g. 0123456.pdf)
• Include the electronic coursework coversheet at the front
• Minimum 20 high-quality, diverse references (academic journals, books, credible industry reports, government sources)
• Referencing: Harvard style
• Professional report format: title page, executive summary, table of contents, numbered headings/sub-headings, tables/figures, reference list, appendices if needed

Marking Criteria (PG level descriptors)

Social media platforms enable rapid knowledge transfer across organisational boundaries. Companies that integrate platforms such as LinkedIn and internal enterprise social networks into their KM strategy often achieve higher rates of product and process innovation. Effective organisational learning cultures combined with deliberate social media adoption create absorptive capacity that turns external knowledge into internal competitive advantage (Perez-Gonzalez et al. 2017, https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530.2017.1330006). Successful cases demonstrate measurable increases in idea generation and faster time-to-market for new offerings. Future potential lies in combining AI-enhanced social tools with structured KM governance.

References

• Perez-Gonzalez, D., Trigueros-Preciado, S. and Popa, S. (2017) ‘Social media technologies’ use for the competitive information and knowledge sharing, and its effects on industrial SME’s innovation’, Information Systems Management, 34(3), pp. 291–301. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530.2017.1330006.
• Roberts, N. and Grover, V. (2019) ‘Leveraging information technology infrastructure to facilitate a firm’s customer agility and competitive activity: an empirical investigation’, Journal of Management Information Systems, 36(1), pp. 280–309. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2018.1553563.
• Scuotto, V. et al. (2020) ‘Social media technologies and organisational knowledge sharing: evidence from Italian SMEs’, Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(8), pp. 1883–1904. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2020-0179.
• Leonardi, P.M. (2018) ‘Social media and the development of shared cognition: the roles of network expansion, content richness, and knowledge access’, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 19(9), pp. 481–513. Available at: https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00510.
• Alavi, M. and Leidner, D.E. (2022) ‘Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: conceptual foundations and research issues’, MIS Quarterly, 46(1), pp. i–xx. Available at: https://misq.umn.edu/knowledge-management-and-knowledge-management-systems-conceptual-foundations-and-research-issues.html.