new zealand information systems doctoral conference 2010

8/9/2019 New Zealand Information Systems Doctoral Conference 2010

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Knowledge Between Context and Capability:Towards Seamless Knowledge Management

Max Erik Rohde

Supervision Committee

Dr. David Sundaram (Primary Supervisor),

Dr. Ami Peiris, Dr. Brent Gallupe

New Zealand Information Systems Doctoral Conference 2010

Department of Information Systems and

Operations Management

30th of July 2010


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Agenda

Motivation Theoretical Background Research Framework Reserch Design Preliminary Results


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Motivation

Working as: software tester, ERP programmer, project managerand student

Information is not documented, not used and/or withoutvalue.

There is no time Few sources exist where complex unstructured information can be

accessed quickly and effortlessly

Great amounts of recorded information are without sustainablevalue

How can we design systems to create and access knowledge inalignment with natural ways of conducting routines?


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Theoretical Background

Conceptualisation of organisational routines (Feldman andPentland, 2003)

Bridging the ostensive and performative is a way to toenable context-informed organisational decisions,

flexibility, and learning (Weick and Sutcliffe, 2006; Levinthal

and Rerup, 2006)

Organisational routines can be formalized using am ITsupported grammar representations (Lee, Wyner and

Pentland, 2008)

Ostensive Performative

Structure or pattern of a

routine

Specific actions performed in a

specific situation


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Ostensive dimension of knowledge Knowledge as strategic capability (Kogut & Zander, 1992) Pattern of individual skills and experiences, routines, encoded

information and encultured values (Blackler, 1995)

Performative dimension of knowledge Knowledge as context dependent (Orlikowski, 2002) Individuals fuse individual components of knowledge in a context-

dependent situational application (Thompson & Walsham, 2004).

Knowing emerges from applying and fusing the individual parts ofthe pattern of knowledge while performing routines. A soundconceptualisation of the ostensive dimension of knowledge in a

flexible grammar representation could greatly increaseorganizations ability to leverage the potentials of the knowledgeapplied in routines.


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A critical view on information technology If encoded information makes up only some part of the knowledge

pattern, can it be captured using an explicit grammar and can IT

support this ostensive dimension of knowledge?

ICT mechanisms are strong for working with information beingrestricted by an explicit grammar but weak at flexibly meeting

situational requirements. If knowing emerges from the actions of

individuals while performing routines, can rigid information

technology support this process?

Research Problem: Both grammar and IT are by their nature restrictive and

therewith interfering with the natural conduction of routines.


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Research Objectives

Explore, synthesize and integrate knowledge managementand organisational literature to investigate therelationship between ICT mechanisms, restrictiveness andsustainable and actionable knowledge.

Explore the ability of ICT mechanisms to facilitateactionable and sustainable knowledge for and fromperforming routines and balance these routines withvarying degrees of restrictiveness.

Design, implement and evaluate ICT mechanisms, whichcan support the emergence of knowledge from

performing routines while minimizing the interferencewith these routines.


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Research Design

Bridging social and technological world using a multi-methodological approach (Nunamaker, Chen and Purdin, 1991)and by applying the principles:

Coherence: close alignment of artifacts on different semioticlevels (Purao,2002; Sheffield, 2005)

Traceability: well-reasoned and well-documented designprocess (Hevner et al., 2004; D'Souza and Wills, 1998)

Ostensive/performative

System implementation


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Artifacts Iteration 1

Theory

Ar

chitecture

Framework

Design

Discover DisseminateImpl

ementation


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Conclusion

Research aims to address a complex and long prevailingpractical and research problem. Will not find the answer

but seeks to achieve improvement.

Discover through design (Baskerville, 2008) Research designed modularand iterative Emphasis on coherence between social, conceptual, and

technological artifacts and on traceabilityof design process

new zealand information systems doctoral conference 2010

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