Dong-Gil Ko

Antecedents of knowledge transfer from consultants to clients in enterprise system implementations

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other complex information systems represent critical organizational resources. For such systems, firms typically use consultants to aid in the implementation process. Client firms expect consultants to transfer their implementation knowledge to their employees so that they can contribute to successful implementations and learn to maintain the systems independent of the consultants. This study examines the antecedents of knowledge transfer in the context of such an interfirm complex information systems implementation environment. Drawing from the knowledge transfer, information systems, and communication literatures, an integrated theoretical model is developed that posits that knowledge transfer is influenced by knowledge-related, motivational, and communication-related factors. Data were collected from consultant-and-client matched-pair samples from 96 ERP implementation projects. Unlike most prior studies, a behavioral measure of knowledge transfer that incorporates the application of knowledge was used. The analysis suggests that all three groups of factors influence knowledge transfer, and provides support for 9 of the 13 hypotheses. The analysis also confirms two mediating relationships. These results (1) adapt prior research, primarily done in non-IS contexts, to the ERP implementation context, (2) enhance prior findings by confirming the significance of an antecedent that has previously shown mixed results, and (3) incorporate new IS-related constructs and measures in developing an integrated model that should be broadly applicable to the interfirm IS implementation context and other IS situations. Managerial and research implications are discussed.

Controlling Information Systems Development Projects: The View from the Client

Increasingly, business clients are actively leading information systems (IS) projects, often in collaboration with IS professionals, and they are exercising a greater degree of project control. Control is defined as all attempts to motivate individuals to achieve desired objectives, and it can be exercised via formal and informal modes. Much of the previous research investigating the choice of control mode has focused on direct reporting relationships between IS project leaders and their superiors in a hierarchical setting. However, the client-IS relationships may take on a variety of forms, including both hierarchical and lateral settings. Moreover, prior research has found that the knowledge of the systems development process is a key antecedent of control, yet clients are unlikely to be as knowledgeable as IS professionals about this process. It is therefore unclear whether prior findings will generalize to the client-IS pair, and the goal of this research is to examine the exercise of control across this relationship. Data were gathered from a questionnaire survey of 69 pairs of clients and IS project leaders. The results are largely consistent with prior research on the antecedents offormal control modes, but they shed new insight on the choice ofinformal control modes.

Investigating the Antecedents of Team-Based Clan Control: Adding Social Capital as a Predictor

Organizations are increasingly relying on team-based structures as work becomes more complex, nonroutine, and knowledge intensive. Teams comprised of individuals with diverse skills and expertise may be well suited to perform such work. However, as teams become more prevalent, organizations may struggle with ways to exercise control. Formal controls, with their focus on prespecified rules, performance targets, and hierarchical relationships, may be less effective in a teamwork environment than clan control, in which work-related behavior is motivated by shared norms and values, as well as a common vision, and individuals attempt to be accepted or “regular” members of a team. However, little is known about the antecedents of clan control. Much of the existing empirical research on the antecedents of control has been influenced by Ouchis (Ouchi, W. G. 1977. The relationship between organizational structure and organizational control. Admin. Sci. Quart.22 95--113) framework, which posits clan control is used when managers lack knowledge of means--ends relationships and are unable to measure outcomes. This paper adopts the view that clan control is a “people” or social process and argues that social capital, a construct that reflects connections and relationships among individuals, is a missing, key antecedent of clan control. In particular, we posit that the existence of social capital enables team members, as well as project managers, to facilitate clan control within a team, i.e., team-based clan control. A model is developed and hypotheses are tested using survey data collected from 95 information systems project teams. The results suggest that social capital assets are associated with team-based clan control. Recognizing that the project manager typically has a different level of organizational authority than team members, additional hypotheses are developed relating characteristics of the project manager to team-based clan control. The results of these tests suggest that team-based clan control is also dependent on the managers knowledge of business processes and the application area, coupled with the extent to which he observes the behaviors of the project team. Thus, our results suggest that there are conditions under which team-based clan control is facilitated by the project team as a whole (including team members and project managers), as well as conditions under which team-based clan control is facilitated by project managers in their role as team leaders. Implications and suggestions for future work are discussed.

Profiting from Knowledge Management: The Impact of Time and Experience

Although many organizations are implementing knowledge management systems (KMS), there is little empirical evidence about whether KMS use can improve individual performance, and how time and experience influence the value derived from KMS use. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) statistical analysis, we examined the impact of using a codification-based KMS on the sales performance of 2,154 sales representatives in a pharmaceutical firm over a 24-month period. We found that KMS had significant positive impacts on individual performance and that these performance benefits grew over time. Moreover, experience moderated the relationship between KMS use and individual performance. Knowledge workers with more experience were able to more quickly absorb and apply the knowledge from the KMS than were those with less experience, who took longer to benefit from KMS use. However, over time experience played a diminishing role in leveraging performance gains from KMS use, and knowledge workers with less experience eventually derived similar performance benefits as those of their more experienced counterparts.

Factors Affecting the Loyal Use of Knowledge Management Systems

This paper investigates the factors affecting the Loyal Use of a Knowledge Management System (KMS). Unlike most other types of information systems, the value from using a KMS is temporally disassociated from the instance of use. We developed a model of the factors affecting the Loyal Use of a KMS and used data gathered from 1013 users of a well-established codification-based KMS in a multinational pharmaceutical firm to test the model using LISREL. Perceived Usefulness was found to be the strongest factor influencing Loyal Use. Extrinsic Motivation and perceived Voluntariness were also important but perceived ease of use played only a minor role. The quality of the system and quality of the knowledge were found to be key drivers of Perceived Usefulness.

Consultant competence trust doesn't pay off, but benevolent trust does! Managing knowledge with care

Purpose – Consultants are hired for their domain expertise. For long‐term engagements, the role of their expertise diminishes as the need to develop personal trust gains significance for a successful project outcome. The purpose of this paper is to examine trust and knowledge management in the context of project teams, exploring the trusting relationship between external consultants and internal clients.Design/methodology/approach – Two questionnaire surveys were developed, and a field survey of consultant‐functional specialist dyads yielded 80 matching‐pair responses. A regression analysis approach was used to test the hypotheses.Findings – In enterprise systems implementation projects, consultants are typically hired for their expertise in the domain – i.e. competence trust. Counter to conventional wisdom, benevolent trust influenced the success of an effective transfer of implementation knowledge.Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the study include the inability to capture temporal ...

Who profits from knowledge management?: a case of experience versus expertise

Although many organizations are implementing knowledge management systems (KMS), there is little empirical evidence about whether KMS use by varying levels of experience and expertise can improve individual and organization performance. In this study, we examined the impact of using a codification-based KMS on the sales performance of 1,340 sales representatives in a pharmaceutical firm. We found that KMS use was directly related to performance - the more knowledge assets that sales representatives read, the more likely they were to exceed their quota. Experience and expertise moderated this relationship. Inexperienced sales representatives who exceeded their sales quota in the previous year derived significantly greater benefit from KMS use than did other sales representatives. Experienced sales representatives who failed to reach their sales quota in the previous year derived significantly less benefit from KMS use than did other sales representatives.