Apomediated marketplace

Abstract

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play an important role in the socioeconomic development programmes in the developing countries. For instance, donors prefer to channel development funds through CSOs rather than directly to governments. However, the lack of adequate capacity to work with governments, donors and other stakeholders has hampered the ability of local CSOs to deliver effective services. Different approaches, including mentorship and formal training, have been used to try to strengthen the capacity of CSOs, but with little apparent impact. Knowledge needs a facilitative context to be created and shared effectively. The ba concept, originally proposed by Japanese philosopher Kitaro Nishida in 1921, is a shared context in which knowledge is created, shared and utilized. It encompasses physical, virtual and mental spaces where participants interact. The key focus of any ba is not the individuals in it but their interactions, which lead to information creation, sharing and learning. The apomediated marketplace, as a knowledge ba, is a combination of face-to-face events and a digital interface through which CSOs, as buyers, and capacity-building consultants, as vendors, meet directly to develop partnerships, share knowledge and transact business. As opposed to intermediation, which involves ‘standing between’ the parties, or disintermediation, implying ‘standing aloof’, standing by the participants through apomediation increases the level of social interactions, which in turn enhances the quality of knowledge sharing in the ba. This paper unravels and describes the concept of knowledge marketplace and reports instances of its implementation in developing countries. It also analyzes the mediation techniques applied in existing knowledge marketplaces and their effectiveness in creating a ba suitable for sharing and learning. The study was conducted through exploratory survey. Data was collected through literature searching and analysis. The findings indicate that apomediation facilitates the creation of a safer, more versatile and effective knowledge sharing ba than its alternatives.