Browsing by Subject "Knowledge management system"
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Item An empirical investigation of factors promoting knowledge management system success(2006-08) Thomas, Bobby Dale; Jones, Donald R.; Viator, Ralph E.; Sherif, Karma S.; Westfall, Peter H.The growing popularity of the knowledge-based theory of the firm, the view that organizational knowledge is one of the last remaining sources of long-term sustainable competitive advantage, has led to management’s growing interest in knowledge management (KM) and knowledge management systems (KMS). To date, organizations that have implemented KMS have encountered mixed results. This research contends that existing KM studies fail to give adequate consideration to the importance of KM strategies in determining critical KMS success factors. The rationale behind this research is that by properly considering the moderating effect of KM strategy on the factors that influence KMS success one can explain the success of a KMS (or lack thereof) using a greatly simplified list of success factors. This research draws on existing IS and KM frameworks, models, and literature and selects four organizational factors that are believed to be critical for the success of a KMS; this study hypothesizes which of these factors are more critical for a knowledge exploration strategy (KRS) and which of these factors are more critical for a knowledge exploitation strategy (KIS). A web-based survey utilizing existing scales, some with slight adaptations, and a newly created strategy scale was administered to test the model; 204 complete responses were collected. The results contribute to the literature by empirically confirming the hypothesized positive relationships between the identified success factors and KMS success. This research can serve as a foundation for future studies, which can help identify additional factors critical for KMS success.Item Machina ex deos. Successes and challenges of implementing mobile computing technologies for development. The experience of nine Indian village health projects using a project-issued mobile application(2016-05) Schwartz, Ariel, Ph. D.; Weaver, Catherine, 1971-; Densmore, Melissa; Heinrich, Carolyn; Lentz, Erin; Ward, PeterAs mobile computing technologies become increasingly functional and affordable, global donor and local development organizations find ways to justify and fund their use in grassroots development work. This dissertation asks two questions: (1) In resource-constrained social sector settings, what project features govern and structure use of work-issued mobile devices? And: (2) How do decision-makers adjust to maximize the benefit of newly-introduced devices while minimizing new burdens to the project and project staff? More simply, what variables under social sector projects’ control might promote successful use of information and communication technologies in development (ICTD) projects? This research represents systematic, qualitative comparison of nine extended deployments of a popular mobile health application, CommCare. Each studied project deployed devices loaded with CommCare to health workers in India as a supportive job aid and/or a data collection tool to help monitor beneficiary populations’ health status and frontline workers’ work. This dissertation examines the conditions under which these health workers were able and willing to use CommCare devices in their jobs, and whether and how they deviated from the use of those devices prescribed by their supervisors. Primary data for this study come from 62 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, extensive review of project documents, and personal observations from field study in India over six months in 2013. Employing a sociotechnical lens and a principal agent model, my data support expectations that use of CommCare devices would help align community health workers’ behavior with their supervisors’ organization and mission-related priorities. Use of the devices improved health workers’ professional competence and improved communications, data quality, and data access. These improvements facilitated project supervisors’ monitoring of health workers and beneficiaries, and funders’ monitoring of projects. Contradicting expectations, use of CommCare devices also weakened organizational oversight and control through new data challenges and increased health worker autonomy in their personal and professional lives. These dual benefits and challenges ultimately served the overall projects’ missions.Item An understanding of the capabilities and limitations of technology-based solutions to Child Protective Services : using a knowledge-based and process-oriented mediation model(2010-12) Jang, Kyeonghee; Schwab, A. James; Jarvenpaa, Sirkka L.; Landuyt, Noel G.; Lauderdale, Michael L.; Streeter, Calvin L.One important research direction that has emerged in Child Protective Services (CPS) is the potential of information technology (IT) to be used by CPS agencies in order to enhance organizational effectiveness by addressing the barriers that caseworkers face in integrating multiple stakeholders’ knowledge. Based on empirical findings with regard to numerous unsuccessful IT development initiatives, the present study strives to gain an in-depth understanding of the research question: How can CPS caseworkers be supported by their agency in the integration of knowledge resources, thereby contributing to organizational effectiveness? A literature review to answer this question revealed the following two major research gaps: the adoption of a technology-focused perspective of intervention and the use of direct research models to evaluate this kind of intervention. In order to bridge these research gaps, this study presented a knowledge-based and process-oriented mediation model, built around the concept of knowledge integration that involves related processes at the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic levels. In this model, a process-oriented Knowledge Management System (KMS) stemming from a Socio-Technical System (STS) perspective was proposed as an alternative intervention model consisting of knowledge management intervention in three dimensions: techno-structural, socio-cultural, and inter-organizational practices. This mediation model partitions the effect of this KMS on outcome (organizational effectiveness) into two components: the direct effect and the indirect effect that is mediated by its output (a CPS caseworker’s knowledge integration ability). This research model was empirically tested using Structural Equation Modeling. This analysis used a sub-set of the 2008 Survey of Organizational Excellence (SOE) data set, which includes the perceptions of CPS caseworkers in the Texas DFPS about their work environment. Results indicate that each of the three dimensions of knowledge management practices enhanced a CPS caseworker’s knowledge integration ability. This ability was a critical factor in determining organizational effectiveness. The mediation effects of a caseworker’s knowledge integration ability were found to mediate the relationship between three dimensions of knowledge management practices and organizational effectiveness. Overall, this mediation model was more useful in explaining the complex relationships among the variables of interest than other direct models.