In this presentation a theoretical

In this presentation a theoretical framework will be presented in which ICT’s role in processes of
knowledge sharing is conceptualized. This model will, later on, be applied in an empirical study on the
role of ICT in processes of knowledge sharing in organizations. In line with the concept ‘mutual
shaping’, stated before, the emergent perspective on ICT and knowledge sharing posits that
stimulation of processes of knowledge sharing through ICT use, is a result of complex social
interactions between the institutional framework and the actions of individuals (e.g., Büchel, 2001). In
order to shed a light on this institutional framework and the actions of individuals, we approach the
relation between ICT and knowledge sharing from an ICT perspective on the one hand and a
knowledge sharing perspective on the other hand. In order to do so, we reviewed literature from both
perspectives; the former emphasizing the ICT architecture, and the latter emphasizing knowledge
sharing. This study puts emphasis on the overlap between these both perspectives. In this way
various aspects of ICT and knowledge sharing are examined. Moreover the pitfalls of approaching ICT
exclusively from a technologic deterministic or a social deterministic perspective (e.g., Huysman & De
Wit, 2000; Spears et al., 2001) are overcome. Figure 1 illustrates the overlap of both perspectives
schematically.