Andrea J. Hester

A Conceptual Model of Wiki Technology Diffusion

Wiki technology is an emerging trend making way in organizational environments. Although numerous benefits of using a Wiki in applications of collaborative knowledge creation and sharing have been reported, little research on the adoption and diffusion of Wiki technology has been published. The contribution of this paper is the theoretically informed emphasis on the need to consider a variety of contextual factors influencing Wiki technology diffusion. Implementations of Wiki technology should include careful consideration of organizational culture, as well as user perceptions of Wiki organizational compatibility, relative advantage, and complexity. Efforts should also be made to achieve and maintain a critical mass of Wiki users.

Increasing collaborative knowledge management in your organization: characteristics of wiki technology and wiki users

This study examines characteristics of Wiki technology and wiki users in an effort to uncover factors facilitating increased adoption and usage of Wiki technology as a collaborative knowledge management tool. The current business environment is characterized by trends in mobility, virtualization and globalization. These trends call for more extensive interaction and collaboration both internal and external to organizations. The resulting changes have been met with an emerging trend of a new generation of Internet-based technologies described as Web 2.0. The umbrella of Web 2.0 technologies support a more collaborative business environment and span across time and distance. Web 2.0 advances have subsequently fostered new approaches to knowledge management with Wiki technology making way as an effective alternative to traditional knowledge management systems. Wiki technology features the unique characteristics of open editing and revision and history capabilities. When these features are combined with knowledge representation and maintenance features and harnessing of collective wisdom, Wiki technology may enable higher levels of collaboration facilitating more effective knowledge processes. Nonetheless, technology and processes are not the only components of a knowledge management system. This study focuses on the users of Wiki technology as another key element in effective utilization of a collaborative knowledge management system.

Innovating with organizational wikis: factors facilitating adoption and diffusion of an effective collaborative knowledge management system

Knowledge Management is a key concern of organizations striving for sustained competitive advantage. Knowledge management must continually strive to overcome problems of ineffective knowledge sharing and transfer, ineffective knowledge management systems, and knowledge acquisition bottlenecks. Wiki technology is an emerging collaborative knowledge management system featuring the unique characteristics of open editing and an environment of social computing and sharing of collective wisdom. Wiki technology can provide benefits of improved work processes, improved communication and collaboration, and improved knowledge sharing. With organized and usable knowledge being a key ingredient to organizational success, ensuring productive creation and sharing of knowledge can be deemed advantageous for organizations. This study will advance the research encompassing Wiki technology by investigating the underlying circumstances fostering adoption, as well as increased wiki usage.

Socio-technical systems theory as a diagnostic tool for examining underutilization of wiki technology

Purpose – This paper aims to examine organizational information systems based on Web 2.0 technology as socio-technical systems that involve interacting relationships among actors, structure, tasks and technology. Alignment within the relationships may facilitate increased technology use; however, gaps in alignment may impede technology use and result in poor performance or system failure. The technology examined is an organizational wiki used for collaborative knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach – Results of a survey administered to employees of an organization providing cloud computing services are presented. The research model depicts the socio-technical component relationships and their influence on use of the wiki. Hierarchical latent variable modelling is used to operationalize the six main constructs. Hypotheses propose that as alignment of a relationship increases, wiki use increases. The partial least squares (PLS) method is used to examine the hypotheses. Findings – Based on the res...

A Comparison of the Influence of Social Factors and Technological Factors on Adoption and Usage of Knowledge Management Systems

Knowledge management strives for effective capture and application of organizational knowledge, a valuable resource imperative in sustaining an organization. In an effort to better achieve knowledge management initiatives, consideration of factors influencing adoption and usage of knowledge management systems are of great interest. Implementation of technological solutions are often considered organizational innovations subject to potential problems of resistance deeming social factors equally important to technological factors. With Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) as a foundation, this research examines factors influencing adoption and usage of knowledge management systems, with results indicating that some factors are important in determining adoption while others are important for continued usage. The IDT model is extended to include Reciprocity Expectation, a factor important when examining practices and technology used for knowledge management. Results of this research stress the importance for careful consideration and re-evaluation of both social and technological factors throughout all stages of technology implementation.

An Examination of Organization-Information System Fit from Perspectives of Technical Fit and User Fit

Information systems have evolved into ubiquitous, Web-based technologies that eliminate the boundaries of time and space, and support higher levels of social interaction. In order to achieve the highest return from information systems, organizations must match the capabilities of technology with their environment. This research proposes a model of Organization-Information System Fit based on task-technology fit and theories of user acceptance. Organization-information system fit may be achieved by balancing technical fit and user fit. Technical fit can be characterized as congruence among process-technology fit and task-technology fit. The idea of user fit is introduced as a moderator of the relationship between technical fit and utilization. Higher degrees of both technical fit and user fit should result in positive impacts on utilization and performance.

Measuring alignment within relationships among socio-technical system components: a study of Wiki technology use

Wiki technology provides capabilities for collaborative knowledge management. Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis eliminate the boundaries of time and space, and support higher levels of social interaction. In order to achieve the highest return from information systems, organizations must match the capabilities of technology with their complex social environments. This research proposes examination of organizational information systems as socio-technical systems that involve interacting relationships among the main components of actors, structure, tasks and technology. Alignment within the relationships will facilitate increased system use; however, gaps in alignment may impede system use and result in poor performance or system failure. The pilot study presented here gives insight into how alignment can be measured by evaluating underlying factors affecting the relationships and subsequent system use.

The Role of Voice in Retention of IT Workers: Paving the Higher Road

When dissatisfied, an employee has two discreet options: exit or voice [19]. While exit is defined as leaving the organization, voice represents an effort to gain correction of the dissatisfying situation. As managers, we want our valued IT professionals to communicate their dissatisfaction and give us an opportunity to correct the situation, rather than move directly to exit. To increase the likelihood of this, we need to better understand factors that influence an employees decision to voice. Preliminary results from a field survey of 112 professionals indicate that a proactive personality and perceived psychological safety of voice contribute to a propensity to voice, while psychological futility of voice contributes to turnover intention. Managerial openness was associated with higher psychological safety of voice and with lower perceptions of psychological futility of voice.

Examining the Varying Influence of Social and Technological Aspects on Adoption and Usage of Knowledge Management Systems

Knowledge management strives for effective capture and application of organizational knowledge, a resource imperative in sustaining organizations. To better achieve knowledge management initiatives, examination of factors influencing adoption and usage of knowledge management systems (KMS) are of great interest. Implementation of technological solutions considered organizational innovation is subject to potential problems of resistance, implying analysis of social factors equally important to technological factors. With Innovation Diffusion, Theory as a foundation, this research examines factors influencing adoption and usage of KMS. The model is extended to include Reciprocity Expectation, an important factor affecting knowledge management processes. Results indicate that some factors are important in determining adoption while others are important for continued usage. This research emphasizes careful consideration and re-evaluation of both social and technological factors throughout all stages of technology implementation; more specifically, Reciprocity Expectation may be an important factor affecting length of adoption, but insignificant in determining continued usage.

Paving the Higher Road: The Role of Voice in the Retention of IT Workers

Although research on employees experiencing dissatisfaction has focused on turnover, Hirschman?s (1970) classic discourse reminds us that the dissatisfied worker has another option: voice. While exit is defined as leaving the organization, voice represents an effort to gain correction of the aggravating work situation. For organizations to have an opportunity to correct a situation and not lose a valued IT employee, the worker must choose to voice his or her dissatisfaction rather than move directly to exit. To increase the likelihood of this, a better understanding of factors influencing the decision to voice is needed. Toward this end, we develop a theory-based model of exit and voice by drawing upon and extending the management literature. We test the model through a field survey. While confirming the associations of perceived safety of voice and proactive personality with the tendency to voice, our research elucidated an inhibitor to voice not identified in prior research: perceived job alternatives. Furthermore, our joint investigation of voice and turnover revealed a new contributor to turnover intention: perceived futility of voice impacted turnover intention, both directly and indirectly through affective commitment. Managerial openness was found to correspond with higher perceived safety of voice and with lower perceived futility of voice, suggesting a manager?s treatment of employee voice is a vital factor in retaining valued IT professionals. As a final point, we empirically explored differences between IT and non-IT workers in regard to the model of voice and exit.