IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/29839.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Knowledge management technology-in-practice: a social constructionist analysis of the introduction and use of knowledge management systems

Author

Listed:
  • Venters, Will

Abstract

This paper argues that Knowledge Management Technology (KMT) is socially constructed in use based on the affordances and constraints of the technology artefact. Since many Knowledge Management (KM) systems are introduced with vague purposes (such as to improve knowledge sharing) it is therefore their affordances and constraints which strongly shape the socially constructed 'KMT-in-practice'. The paper argues that knowledge is also socially constructed and that knowledge creation requires an element of surprise and challenge to routine. Using a case study of the British Council's KM programme between 1998 and 2003, the paper explores the social construction of a KMT as it is developed and used; describing how various features afforded by the technology influence its adoption and institutionalisation. The paper concludes by arguing that KMTs-in-practice, which are successful in supporting knowledge creation, must paradoxically remain in a state of neither stabilisation and acceptance, nor abandonment and disuse. Practical implications of how this might be achieved are provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Venters, Will, 2010. "Knowledge management technology-in-practice: a social constructionist analysis of the introduction and use of knowledge management systems," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 29839, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:29839
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29839/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid, 2001. "Knowledge and Organization: A Social-Practice Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 198-213, April.
    2. Walsham, Geoff, 2001. "Knowledge Management:: The Benefits and Limitations of Computer Systems," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 599-608, December.
    3. Wanda J. Orlikowski & C. Suzanne Iacono, 2001. "Research Commentary: Desperately Seeking the “IT” in IT Research—A Call to Theorizing the IT Artifact," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 121-134, June.
    4. Wanda J. Orlikowski, 2000. "Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 404-428, August.
    5. Ulrike Schultze & Charles Stabell, 2004. "Knowing What You Don’t Know? Discourses and Contradictions in Knowledge Management Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 549-573, June.
    6. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1996. "What Firms Do? Coordination, Identity, and Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 502-518, October.
    7. Mark P. A. Thompson & Geoff Walsham, 2004. "Placing Knowledge Management in Context," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 725-747, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cécile Godé & Pierre Barbaroux, 2016. "Combining Technologies’ Properties to Cope with Uncertainty: Lessons from the Military," Post-Print hal-03223680, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alistair Mutch, 2010. "Technology, Organization, and Structure---A Morphogenetic Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 507-520, April.
    2. Chris Kimble, 2013. "Knowledge management, codification and tacit knowledge," Post-Print halshs-00826911, HAL.
    3. Ferguson, Julie & Huysman, Marleen & Soekijad, Maura, 2010. "Knowledge Management in Practice: Pitfalls and Potentials for Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1797-1810, December.
    4. Emmanuelle Vaast & Geoff Walsham, 2009. "Trans-Situated Learning: Supporting a Network of Practice with an Information Infrastructure," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 547-564, December.
    5. Bi-Juan Zhong & Yaping Gong & Oded Shenkar & Yadong Luo & Zhixing Xiao & Shuming Zhao, 2023. "Managing the hearts of boundary spanners: CEO organizational identification and international joint venture performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 87-119, March.
    6. Paola Perez-Aleman, 2011. "Collective Learning in Global Diffusion: Spreading Quality Standards in a Developing Country Cluster," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 173-189, February.
    7. Khuong, Le-Nguyen & Harindranath, G. & Dyerson, Romano, 2014. "Understanding knowledge management software-organisation misalignments from an institutional perspective: A case study of a global IT-management consultancy firm," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 226-247.
    8. François-Xavier de Vaujany & Nathalie Mitev & Matthew Smith & Isabelle Walsh, 2017. "Renewing Literature Reviews in MIS Research? A Critical Realist Approach," Working Papers hal-01648133, HAL.
    9. Matthew Hawkins, 2015. "Market Identification to Generation: A Practice Theory Market Orientation," Post-Print hal-01507884, HAL.
    10. Ferguson, J.E. & Huysman, M.H., 2009. "Between ambition and approach: towards sustainable knowledge management in development organizations," Serie Research Memoranda 0003, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    11. Verstegen, Luuk & Houkes, Wybo & Reymen, Isabelle, 2019. "Configuring collective digital-technology usage in dynamic and complex design practices," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    12. Cécile Godé, 2008. "Les Pratiques De Coordination En Environnement Volatile : Le Cas Des Forces Aeriennes Françaises En Situation Operationnelle," Post-Print hal-00293535, HAL.
    13. Chris Kimble, 2013. "What Cost Knowledge Management? The Example of Infosys," Post-Print halshs-00826906, HAL.
    14. Mahama, Habib & Elbashir, Mohamed Z. & Sutton, Steve G. & Arnold, Vicky, 2016. "A further interpretation of the relational agency of information systems: A research note," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 16-25.
    15. Daniel Tzabbar & Jeongsik (Jay) Lee & Donghwi (Josh) Seo, 2022. "Collaborative structure and post‐mobility knowledge spillovers: A dyadic approach," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(9), pages 1728-1762, September.
    16. Patrick Regnér & Udo Zander, 2011. "Knowledge and Strategy Creation in Multinational Companies," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(6), pages 821-850, December.
    17. A. Willem & M. Buelens, 2003. "Making Competencies Cross Business Unit Boundaries: The Interplay between Inter-Unit Coordination, Trust and Knowledge Transferability," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/176, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    18. Michelle Greenwood & Ken Kamoche, 2013. "Social accounting as stakeholder knowledge appropriation," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(3), pages 723-743, August.
    19. Hao-Fan Chumg & Jia-Wen Shin & Hsiu-Yen Chiang & Man-ting Ho, 2022. "What Drives Working Habits for Sharing Knowledge in Virtual Teams? An Organizational Embeddedness Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    20. Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein & Sawyer, Steve, 2019. "Networks of innovation: the sociotechnical assemblage of tabletop computing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(S).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ISI; knowledge management tools; knowledge management system; information systems; theory of knowledge; groupware; case study/studies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:29839. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.