Codification, Personalisation, or in Between? Exploring Knowledge Characteristics to Guide Knowledge Management System Design

Dirk Basten (), Linda Schneider () and Oleg Pankratz ()
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Dirk Basten: Department of Information Systems and Systems Development, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany
Linda Schneider: Department of Information Systems and Systems Development, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany
Oleg Pankratz: Department of Information Systems and Systems Development, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany

Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), 2017, vol. 16, issue 04, 1-46

Abstract: The effectiveness of information technology (IT) depends on its embeddedness into its contingent context. Thus, enabling adequate knowledge management (KM) system design requires awareness of the characteristics of the knowledge that is created. Since related insights are missing, we explore what software developers learn on their projects by conducting interviews based on the Repertory Grid Technique. We assess the characteristics of the identified knowledge and skills and derive suggestions for KM system design accordingly. Our study gives rise to challenge the common idea that KM design should be chosen according to the type of knowledge (explicit versus tacit) to be managed. Incorporating further knowledge characteristics (task domain and volatility of knowledge), our results indicate that organisations should implement a codification strategy or a strategy between codification and personalisation, depending on the knowledge at hand.

Keywords: Software development; knowledge management; repertory grid; knowledge characteristics; knowledge categories (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1142/S021964921750037X

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