Abstract
Knowledge work is performed in all occupations and across all industries. The level of similarity of knowledge work allows for designing supporting tools that can be widely used. In this paper an activity-based perspective towards knowledge work is taken. Based on findings from a previous ethnographically-informed study, we identified valuable activities to be supported in order to increase knowledge maturing inside companies. The goal of this paper is to contribute to which knowledge maturing activities are deemed important, so that they can be supported by IT services. Quantitative and qualitative data have been collected in 126 organisations of different size, sector and knowledge intensity. Important feedback and issues emerged and need to be managed in order to support success in the knowledge maturing activities that allow improvement of organisational learning through the dissemination and application of the most appropriate knowledge.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blackler, F.: Knowledge, Knowledge Work and Organizations: An Overview and Interpretation. Organization Studies 16(6), 1021–1046 (1995)
Wolff, E.: The Growth of Information Workers. Communications of the ACM 48(10), 37–42 (2005)
Drucker, P.F.: The Age of Social Transformation. The Atlantic Monthly 274(5), 53–80 (1994)
Alavi, M., Leidner, D.E.: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues. MIS Quarterly 25(1), 101–136 (2001)
Bishop, J., et al.: Ensuring the effectiveness of a knowledge management initiative. Journal of Knowledge Management 12(4), 16–29 (2008)
Blackler, F., Reed, M., Whitaker, A.: Epilogue - An Agenda for Research. Journal of Management Studies 30(6), 1017–1020 (1993)
Boer, N.-I., Baalen, P.J., Kumar, K.: An Activity Theory Approach for Studying the Situatedness of Knowledge Sharing. In: 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICS). Hilton Waikoloa Village, USA (2002)
Clases, C., Wehner, T.: Steps Across the Border – Cooperation, Knowledge Production and Systems Design. In: Computer Supported Cooperative Work, vol. 11, pp. 39–54 (2002)
Krafzig, D., Banke, K., Slama, D.: Enterprise SOA: Service-Oriented Architecture Best Practices. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs (2005)
DeSanctis, G., Poole, M.S.: Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory. Organization Science 5(2), 121–147 (1994)
Schmidt, A.: Knowledge Maturing and the Continuity of Context as a Unifying Concept for Knowledge Management and E-Learning. In: 5th International Conference on Knowledge Management (I-KNOW 2005), Graz, Austria (2005)
Maier, R., Schmidt, A.: Characterizing Knowledge Maturing: A Conceptional Model Integrating E-Learning and Knowledge Management. In: 4th Conference of Professional Knowledge Management (WM 2007), Potsdam (2007)
Kaschig, A., et al.: D1.1 - Results of the Ethnographic Study and Conceptual Knowledge Maturing Model, Innsbruck (2009)
Barnes, S.-A., et al.: Knowledge Maturing at Workplaces of Knowledge Workers: Results of an Ethnographically Informed Study. In: 9th International Conference on Knowledge Management (I-KNOW 2009), Graz, Austria (2009)
Nonaka, I.: A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation. Organization Science 5(1), 14–37 (1994)
Wiig, K.M.: A Knowledge Model for Situation-Handling. Journal of Knowledge Management 7(5), 6–24 (2003)
Sveiby, K.-E.: A Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm to Guide in Strategy Formulation. Journal of Intellectual Capital 2(4), 344–358 (2001)
Wenger, E.: Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1998)
Daskalaki, M., Blair, H.: Knowing as an Activity: Implications for the Film Industry and Semi-Permanent Work Groups. In: Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Organizational Knowledge, Learning and Capabilities, Athens (2002)
Davenport, T.H., Jarvenpaa, S.L., Beers, M.C.: Improving Knowledge Work Processes. Sloan Management Review 37(4), 53–65 (1996)
Kelloway, E.K., Barling, J.: Knowledge Work as organizational behavior. International Journal of Management Reviews 2(3), 287–304 (2000)
Holsapple, C.W., Whinston, A.B.: Knowledge-based Organizations. The Information Society 5(2), 77–90 (1987)
Snyder-Halpern, R., Corcoran-Perry, S., Narayan, S.: Developing Critical Practice Environments Supporting Knowledge Work of Nurses. Computers in Nursing 19(1), 17–23 (2001)
Schultze, U.: A confessional account of an ethnography about knowledge work. MIS Quarterly 24(1), 3–41 (2000)
Schultze, U.: On Knowledge Work. In: Holsapple, C.W. (ed.) Handbook on Knowledge Management 1 - Knowledge Matters, pp. 43–58. Springer, Berlin (2003)
Hädrich, T.: Situation-oriented Provision of Knowledge Services. In: Information Systems 2007. University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle(Saale) (2007)
Kaschig, A., et al.: D1.2 - Results of the Representative Study and Refined Conceptual Knowledge Maturing Model (2010)
DeLone, W.H., McLean, E.R.: Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable. Information Systems Research 3(1), 60–95 (1992)
DeLone, W.H., McLean, E.R.: The DeLone and McLean Model of Information Systems Success: A Ten-Year Update. Journal of Management Information Systems 19(4), 9–30 (2003)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Kaschig, A. et al. (2010). Knowledge Maturing Activities and Practices Fostering Organisational Learning: Results of an Empirical Study. In: Wolpers, M., Kirschner, P.A., Scheffel, M., Lindstaedt, S., Dimitrova, V. (eds) Sustaining TEL: From Innovation to Learning and Practice. EC-TEL 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6383. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16020-2_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16020-2_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-16019-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-16020-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)