Narrating Your Work: an approach to supporting knowledge sharing in virtual teams Anoush Margaryan 1 Eleni Boursinou 1 Dane Lukic 2 and Hans de Zwart 3 1 Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, U.K.; 2 Glasgow School of Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, U.K.; 3 Bits of Freedom Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Correspondence: Anoush Margaryan, Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, U.K. Tel: +44 141 331 8716; E-mail: Anoush.margaryan@gcu.ac.uk Received: 23 July 2013 Revised: 02 December 2013 Accepted: 03 December 2013 Abstract We propose an approach to enhancing knowledge sharing and connectedness in distributed teams. Termed ‘Narrating Your Work’ (NYW), the approach involves members of distributed team using a microblogging tool to post regular updates about their current work, accomplishments, and issues. The NYW approach was evaluated within a geographically and temporally distributed team at Shell International for a period of one month, using a mixed-method research design. Methodology comprised of a quantitative survey, followed by semi-structured interviews and analysis of microblogging updates posted during the month in which the approach was being trialled. The evaluation results suggest that NYW was viewed as a valid and practical approach to enhancing knowledge sharing and connectedness. A range of barriers and enablers that could impact the future application and embedding of the approach are identified and recommendations for implementation are outlined. Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2015) 13(4), 391–400. doi:10.1057/kmrp.2013.58; published online 10 March 2014 Keywords: knowledge sharing; narrative approaches; organisational learning; networks; distributed teams; microblogging Introduction Distributed work, carried out by virtual teams of employees separated from each other by geographic, temporal and cultural distance, is now common- place in organisations. While enabling organisations to pull together expertise without co-locating employees, distributed work also creates challenges for organisations, by hindering interactions and knowledge flow and shifting the relationships between people and organisations (Bietz, 2013). Organisations have used networked technologies extensively to support synchronous and asynchronous communication and knowl- edge sharing across geographic and temporal boundaries. These technolo- gies included groupware to build communities of practice, portals, content management systems and repositories to share best practice examples and to provide access to experts, among others (Margaryan, 2008). Although organisations have invested heavily in these technologies, their uptake and effectiveness have varied. One reason is that these technologies are often introduced and implemented in a top-down way, resulting in a poor adoption rate and poor integration within the everyday practices of work- ers (Margaryan & Littlejohn, 2008). Recently, lightweight technologies, such as social networking sites, weblogs, and other social media, have been attracting organisations’ interest because these technologies enable infor- mal conversations and serendipitous connections, tend to be more familiar to workers (through personal use in non-work-related contexts), and are easier to appropriate and integrate into the professional practice in a grassroots manner. Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2015) 13, 391–400 © 2015 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved 1477-8238/15 www.palgrave-journals.com/kmrp/