Knowledge reuse through electronic knowledge repositories: a multi theoretical study

Purpose This study provides insight into factors surrounding knowledge reuse through electronic knowledge repositories (EKR). Design/methodology/approach A multi-theoretical framework is proposed that views knowledge reuse from both socio-technical and expectation confirmation model perspectives. Survey data are used to test associated hypotheses derived from the literature. Findings Results confirm the explanatory power of this approach to predict greater knowledge reuse and greater continuance of use. Research limitations/implications Results suggest social and technical factors modelled interdependently affect knowledge reuse and lead to greater performance, knowledge sharing and continuance of use. Practical implications Practical and managerial recommendations for enhancing enablers of knowledge reuse via EKR are offered. Originality/value This study models enablers to knowledge reuse and resulting downstream effects on organizational outcomes. It provides an original framework for studying knowledge reuse within an EKR or knowledge management system perspective.

Supporting Knowledge Evaluation to Increase Quality in Electronic Knowledge Repositories

Knowledge forms an important asset in modern organizations. In order to gain and sustain competitive advantage knowledge has to be managed. One aspect of this is to use Electronic Knowledge Repositories (EKR) to enhance knowledge sharing, reuse and learning. The success of an EKR is dependent on the quality of its content. For knowledge to be stored in an EKR, it has to be captured. One crucial part of the capture process is to evaluate whether the identified knowledge should be incorporated in the EKR or not. Therefore, to increase quality in an EKR, the evaluation stage of the capture process must be successfully carried out. Based on an interpretive field study and an extensive literature review, this paper identifies and characterizes Critical Success Factors (CSF) in the evaluation stage and presents guidance aiming to support implementation of the evaluation stage with the purpose to increase the quality of an EKR. In particular, the guidance supports the decision whether identified knowledge should be stored or not and it highlights the importance of performing evaluation addressing correctness, relevance, protection and redundancy. The characterization of the capture process contributes mainly to KM theory, and the guidance to KM practice.

Leveraging Organizational Knowledge through Electronic Knowledge Repositories in Public Accounting Firms: An Empirical Investigation

ABSTRACT We investigate one of the most widely used knowledge management tools in public accounting firms, electronic knowledge repositories (EKRs), using a research model theoretically grounded in the expectation-confirmation theory (ECT). The research model was tested with survey data collected from 230 employees from four large public accounting firms. The results indicate that perceived usefulness and subjective norms exhibit a sustained positive influence on individuals' EKR behavioral intention, while individual satisfaction has no significant impact on EKR behavioral intention. The supplementary group analyses on firm type, individual experience level, and individual usage level reveal that individual and firm characteristics affect individual EKR usage intention. We contribute to knowledge management research by being one of the first studies to explore the use of EKRs in public accounting firms. The results offer insights on the factors that impact individuals' attitude and intention to use EKRs, and elucidate how firms can leverage EKRs to promote knowledge reuse and retention. Data Availability: Data may be requested from Professor Lin.

Contributing Knowledge to Knowledge Repositories

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) such as electronic knowledge repositories (EKR) have brought substantial changes to the way organizations leverage their knowledge resources. Despite the importance of KMS, organizations are faced with a challenge to realize the benefits of KMS. One challenging issue that has not been extensively investigated by prior KMS studies is the factors that drive employees’ usage of KMS and their willingness to contribute knowledge. This chapter posits that the drivers of KMS usage can be defined by two facets: (1) the inducement mechanism that motivates the employees to contribute knowledge and (2) the opportunity mechanism that facilitates their knowledge contribution. To examine the determinants of KMS usage, we propose a multi-dimensional model that forms three antecedents of inducement – rewards, power, and centrality – and three antecedents of opportunity – ease in using EKR, organizational structure and top management support. The model is tested using 180 survey responses collected from a software company. The analysis demonstrates that KMS usage is jointly determined by both the inducement and opportunity mechanisms.