Connected brains: Question and answer systems for knowledge sharing: concepts, implementation and return on investment

In this paper the aim is to describe the role that question‐driven knowledge exchange systems can play in the transfer of knowledge between people and to describe the conditions to be fulfilled for successful implementation.

The conclusions in this paper are based on interpretation of results of case studies. These are combined with literature research.

The major conclusion of the work is that question and answer (Q&A) systems are more promising than traditional Yellow Pages systems. However, some challenges remain the same, especially those related to motivating people to ask (the right) questions.

The authors believe that further study would be helpful to better understand the causal relationships between the success of a Q&A‐driven knowledge system and the context where they are applied. More case studies and a fundamental study of the types of knowledge and organizations that could benefit from this approach would help people to make better decisions when considering the implementation of a Q&A system.

The aim of this work is to help people make better decisions when they consider the implementation of a system that connects people with a knowledge question to people with the relevant knowledge. It helps them to understand whether such a system can add value at all and, if so, how to increase the probability of success.

As far as is known, there has not been a study so far, explicitly focusing on this type of system and the comparison of the application of Q&A systems to “traditional” Yellow Pages. The application of scenario‐thinking to this field is also new.