Paper long abstract:

Ghanaian organisations involved in agricultural extension, research and education (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System - AKIS) have reportedly weak inter-organisational linkages, and this limits their capacity to respond to new challenges. In this context, this article investigates the contribution of two Social Media (SM) platforms to facilitating open information sharing and interaction amidst the emergence of a new pest, the fall armyworm. Using a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods, we analysed the types of contents that were exchanged on the platforms, the characteristics of the networks in terms of the involvement of different actors in sending and receiving messages, and how such interaction patterns were influenced by social relations, self-representational interests and organisational set-ups and rules. The results indicate that both SM platforms are characterised by relatively centralised network and communication structures, suggesting that participation in especially sending messages is non-egalitarian. Such structural features are not very conducive to more complex knowledge processes such as knowledge integration and for joint problem solving. In line with this, the analysis of the actual knowledge processes taking place demonstrated that the platforms were used more for knowledge and information dissemination as well as for the distribution of notifications in support of organisational coordination. Moreover, our investigations suggest that social hierarchies, organisational rules and tactics related to identity management markedly influenced these patterns of interaction and posed constraints to open knowledge and information sharing. Nevertheless, the platforms play meaningful roles in supporting coordination of activities and information dissemination, and are likely to generate useful input for knowledge integration and collaborative problem solving in complementary face-to-face settings.