Alexandra Durcikova

The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on individuals' knowledge sharing behavior

A major challenge in knowledge management involves motivating people to share knowledge with others. The objective of this study is to deepen our understanding of how to influence an individuals tendency to engage in knowledge sharing behavior in a team setting. Specifically, we investigate the effects of intrinsic motivation (altruism) and extrinsic motivation (economic reward, reputation feedback and reciprocity) on knowledge sharing (number of ideas generated, idea usefulness, idea creativity and meeting satisfaction) in a group meeting. Results of our experiment show that a knowledge management system with built-in reputation feedback is crucial to support successful knowledge sharing.

Research Note---Knowledge Exploration and Exploitation: The Impacts of Psychological Climate and Knowledge Management System Access

Firms need to balance efficiency gains obtained through exploiting existing knowledge assets with long-term Fcompetitive viability achieved through exploring new knowledge resources. Because the use of knowledge management systems (KMSs) continues to expand, understanding how these systems affect exploration and exploitation practices at the individual level is important to advance both knowledge management theory and practice. This study reports the results of a multi-industry survey investigating how psychological climate and KMS access influence solution reuse (exploitation) and solution innovation (exploration) in the context of technical support work. Our results show that KMS access does not directly determine solution innovation or solution reuse. Instead, KMS access strengthens the positive relationship between a climate for innovation and solution innovation and reverses the positive relationship between a climate for autonomy and solution innovation. The implications for knowledge management research and practice are discussed.

Does spell-checking software need a warning label?

Users---ironically, often those most verbally armed---put too much trust and little effort in questioning spell- and grammar-checking programs.

Assessing Knowledge Loss Risk

Knowledge has been recognized as a critical asset for companies that want to compete in todays turbulent business environment. Researchers and practitioners recognize that the loss of knowledge due to loss of employees that hold valuable knowledge can have grave consequences to an organization. This paper provides a methodology for assessing potential risk of losing knowledge when employees retire or otherwise leave the organization based on the traditional risk calculation that is compensated for the quality of knowledge to be lost. This paper tests a method for scoring each factor in the risk calculation and then assessing the criticality of the risk based on the final calculated score and pilot tests this approach with 85 subjects. A discussion is provided on actions that organizations should take based on the criticality of the risk associate with knowledge loss.

Elaboration Likelihood in Knowledge Management: A Model and Experimental Test

Understanding knowledge transfer using computer-mediated context is becoming essential given that organizations are spread more and more globally. In this paper, we adopt elaboration likelihood theory to investigate knowledge transfer processes in a knowledge management system (KMS). We report the results of an exploratory experiment conducted to examine the impact of argument quality, source credibility and validation on knowledge usefulness of a document in a KMS. Our findings indicate that while validation of knowledge in KMS positively affects perceptions of knowledge usefulness, higher argument quality was associated with lower usefulness ratings. Surprisingly, source credibility has no effect on perceptions of knowledge usefulness. The implications of these results for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Information Influence in Mediated Knowledge Transfer: An Experimental Test of Elaboration Likelihood

Understanding knowledge transfer in computer mediated contexts is becoming essential given that organizations are spread more and more globally. In this article, the authors adopt elaboration likelihood theory to investigate knowledge transfer processes in a Knowledge Management System (KMS). They report the results of an exploratory experiment conducted to examine the impact of argument quality, source credibility and validation on knowledge usefulness of a document in a KMS. Their findings indicate that while validation of knowledge in KMS positively affects perceptions of knowledge usefulness, higher argument quality was associated with lower usefulness ratings. Surprisingly, source credibility has no effect on perceptions of knowledge usefulness. The implications of these results for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Studying Knowledge Management System Success in System Administration

Significant temporal and monetary costs are associated with the development and implementation of a knowledge management system (KMS). To justify this investment, it is important for organizations to measure the success of such systems. To help achieve this objective, this paper proposes a KMS success model, which is based on prior success models for information systems (IS) and KMS. This model extends previous models by investigating two modes of KMS use – knowledge sourcing and sharing. Additionally, individual impact is extended to include both merit (perceived usefulness) and worth (productivity) metrics. By also taking into account the effects of other knowledge sources, such as Google, email, and instant messaging, we are able to explore the contribution of KMS use. This research in progress proposes testing the model in the context of system administrators, technical experts who work in complex and dynamic environments.

Integrating IS Security with Knowledge Management: Are We Doing Enough?

Knowledge management focuses on capturing and sharing knowledge. Because of this, KM researchers tend to focus on issues related to knowledge capture, storage, and sharing. However, because knowledge is valuable, it is a target needing to be protected. This paper posits that KM researchers and practitioners also need to think about security and explores how important security skills are to KM practitioners and researchers. A literature review was performed to determine how much attention is paid by KM researchers to knowledge security. Additionally, 50 KM job postings were examined from the spring of 2013 to determine if security skills are considered important by those hiring KM practitioners. Additionally, 38 job postings were examined from the summer of 2014 to determine if required skills changed based on the Target breech. Finally, a survey was prepared for exploring security attitudes of KM practitioners as an area of future research.

If it's fair, I’ll share: The effect of perceived knowledge validation justice on contributions to an organizational knowledge repository

Abstract The organizational value of an electronic knowledge repository depends on the degree to which it offers high quality knowledge to its users. Validation procedures are implemented to monitor and ensure the quality of submitted content. However, if perceived as unreasonable or unfair, validation can have the unintended effect of discouraging employee contributions. Drawing on organizational justice and fairness literatures, we show that both quality perceptions and contribution behaviors are positively influenced by perceived procedural justice of validation, which, in turn, is influenced by perceived informational and interpersonal justice. Implications for organizational knowledge management research and practice are discussed.

Sysadmins and the need for verification information

Traditional usability measures may not be sufficient for some specialized users, such as system administrators. Because of their broad range of responsibilities for highly complex and risky business environments, these users also need tools that are powerful, informative, and credible. To do their work, system administrators need the ability to verify the work they have done. That verification comes from accurate and available information that we refer to as information credibility. This exploratory research aims to address the relationship between task complexity, task risk, and verification information seeking in GUI tools used by system administrators. Potential antecedents of information verification are identified and a model is proposed that addresses how aspects of the task and environment affect the need for verification. Findings suggest that task complexity is a significant indicator of the need for verification information. Armed with this knowledge, practitioners can anticipate the needs of system administrators and design GUI tools with information credibility in mind.