Exploring the role of network effects in IT implementation

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract This paper seeks to analyze the role of network effects in relation to the adoption and use of systems for knowledge sharing in organizations and draws on recent developments within network economics to outline a theoretical perspective on the implementation of knowledge repositories in organizations. Findings from a longitudinal field study are presented to explore the concept of network effects in more detail. Commonly associated with economics, the concept of network effects can also be used in an organizational context to study adoption dynamics and use patterns when new information and communication technologies are introduced. The analysis of the field study data shows that knowledge repositories exhibit strong network effects, which can complicate the implementation process in multiple ways. The research is based on a single, in-depth case study. Future research should study the role of network effects in relation to other technologies and organizational contexts. It underscores the need to be aware of -and try to managenetwork effects when implementing knowledge repositories and other "networked" technologies. By and large, IS researchers have overlooked the role of network effects in relation to information and communication technologies in organizations. This paper begins to address this gap by focusing on the role of network effects in the adoption and use of knowledge repositories. It is suggested that the concept of network effects provides a useful theoretical lens in a number of other cases.

Diagnosing organizational risks in software projects: Stakeholder resistance

“…Next, case study is the most suitable research approach for investigating contemporary events with no control over the environment (de Bakker et al, 2011;Trkman and Trkman, 2009;Yin, 2009). Finally, case study is particularly appropriate for studying software development and implementation in natural organizational settings (Bansler and Havn, 2004;Darke et al, 1998;Trkman and Trkman, 2014).…”

Inovação por exploração e explotação do conhecimento: um estudo empírico do setor automobilístico

“…Prod., São Carlos, v. 25, n. 1, p. 1-15, 2018 ( Analoui et al, 2012;Politis, 2001), learning culture (Donate & Guadamillas, 2011;Ma et al, 2014), autonomy (Lee & Choi, 2003;Ho et al, 2014) and IT systems (Bansler & Havn, 2004;Xue et al, 2011).…”

“…Thus, this research considers that IT systems are facilitators of the KM process, it being up to individuals the action itself so that this stored and distributed knowledge assigns value to the organization. Bansler & Havn (2004) highlight that tools such as Data Warehousing and Data Mining accelerate the learning process, support the autonomy of employees, enable teamwork as well as access to information and knowledge. Therefore, this type of tool is capable of storing the best organizational practices and processing multiple combinations of analyses.…”

“…Bansler & Havn (2004) point out that success in the application of these technologies depends on the expansion of the repository of knowledge and on the improvement of individual skills, for expanding the knowledge base of the organization is only made possible through the training of employees. In addition, a wide opening of the company's knowledge base depends on employees who are able to interpret this knowledge, as well as to apply it in situations that generate an increase in performance.…”

Cognitive style fit and effective knowledge reuse

“…She also discusses three main roles of the knowledge process as: knowledge producers, who contribute to the repository; knowledge intermediaries, who organise knowledge for reuse; and knowledge consumers, who retrieve and use stored knowledge. The roles most frequently referred to in the literature are those of producers and consumers of knowledge (Card and Comer, 1994;Malhotra, 2002;, or contributors to and reusers of knowledge repositories (Markus, 2001;Bansler and Havn, 2004). These roles are capable of being performed by the same individual at different times depending on the task in hand (Markus, 2001).…”