Fiona Thompson

Knowledge sharing in cross-boundary information system development in the public sector

The success of information system development involving multi-organizational collaboration can depend heavily on effective knowledge sharing across boundaries. This paper reports on a comparative examination of knowledge sharing in two separate networks of public sector organizations participating in information technology innovation projects in New York State. As is typical of innovations resulting from recent government reforms, the knowledge sharing in these cases is a critical component of the information system development, involving a mix of tacit, explicit, and interactional forms of sharing across organizational boundaries. In one case the sharing is among state agencies and in the other across state and local government agencies. Using interviews, observations and document analysis, the longitudinal case studies follow knowledge sharing and other interactions in the interorganizational networks of these two distinct settings. Results confirm the difficulty of sharing knowledge across agencies, and further reveal the influences of several relevant factors—incentives, risks and barriers for sharing, and trust—on the effectiveness of knowledge sharing. The results contribute to theory on knowledge sharing processes in multi-organizational public sector settings and provide practice guidance for developing effective sharing relationships in collaborative cross-boundary information system initiatives.

From agency to structure: Analysis of an episode in a facilitation process

In this article, we analyze an exercise in a facilitation process by showing that the structuring of this episode can be studied just by highlighting how different forms of agency (human and non-human) articulate with each other. The objective of this study is threefold: first, it aims at demonstrating that structuring effects can indeed be identified through a bottom-up approach without resorting to any form of duality or dualism, as it is common to think in the traditional literature in organizational studies (Conrad & Haynes, 2001); second, through this analysis, it illustrates the analytical power of such an approach by showing how it allows us to identify specific strategies used by the facilitators to do their work, especially in the way they select who or what is acting in a chain of agencies; third, it illustrates how the attribution of agency to artifacts allows human participants to progress throughout the facilitation process by enabling them to objectify what they are supposed to think and wish for, a process that Weick (1979) has identified as the bulk of organizing processes.

Learning about Interoperability for Emergency Response: Geographic Information Technologies and the World Trade Center Crisis

Geographic information technologies (GIT) have the potential to integrate information among multiple organizations. In fact, some of the most impressive advantages of using geo-spatial data are derived from the power of bringing together geographic data covering territories that may well be administered by different organizations and from layering geographic data with other social and demographic data sets. However, building the GIT infrastructure necessary for interoperability and integration has been very challenging. Technical capabilities are available, but organizational, institutional and political factors are seen as powerful barriers. Using structuration theory, this paper argues that the World Trade Center crisis was a catalyst for a change in the conceptualization of GIT for emergency response and, consequently, much was learned about interoperability and inter-organizational geographic information systems.

INTERORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATIONS.

This paper reports results from a comparative case study examination of knowledge sharing among two separate networks of public sector organizations participating in collaborative innovation projects in New York. The innovations are typical of those resulting from many recent government reforms in that involve new policies, processes, technologies, and collaborative relationships. The knowledge sharing in these cases is a critical component of the innovation project, involving a mix of tacit, explicit, and interactional forms of sharing across organizational boundaries. In one case the sharing is among agencies within the state level and in the other across state and local government agencies. Using interviews, field observations and document analysis, the case studies follow 16-months of knowledge sharing and other interactions in interorganizational networks in these two distinct settings. The research is ongoing; this report covers the first half of the longitudinal study. Results confirm the difficult...