The Factors Influencing the OnLine/OffLine Activities of the CoP (Community of Practice) and the Results: Focusing on Perceived Risk of Losing Uniqueness of One´s Own Knowledge through CoP Activity

In the face of growing skepticism regarding Information Technology-oriented Knowledge Management, the CoP has become the focus of researchers´ attentions as an alternative that overcomes the limitations of such KM [47, 55]. The principal objective of this study is to identify the factors that affect CoP activation and performance variables obtainable through CoP activity, and to gain greater insight into their relationships and the mechanisms. In particular, we intended to illustrate the role of perceived risk factors for the loss of uniqueness of one´s own knowledge in terms of their influence on CoP activity. Triandis´ Model is a useful model for the simultaneous confirmation of various factors that influence human behaviors. In this study, we adopted Triandis´ model and divided the human behaviors into on-line and Off-line CoP activities. As CoP activity performs a critical function in the accumulation and sharing of social capital by expanding networking opportunities and facilitating the formation of social relationships, it also strengthens organization´s social capital in terms of human networking. Therefore, we considered relationship commitment and work performance in the context of performance evaluations via CoP activity.