The Role of Dissonance in Knowledge Exchange: A Case Study of a Knowledge Management System Implementation

Abstract

This study examines the non-adoption of a knowledge management system for knowledge exchange among a distributed group of non-life insurance experts. The users participated with enthusiasm in the design process where they provided functional and data specifications for the system. However, a few months after introduction, the system was hardly being used at all. The analysis of the case suggests that non-use of a system can be understood in terms of dissonance, a dominant theme observed in the social dynamics of the implementation. Dissonance was observed through disparate mental models of a system's intention and use, disparate mental models of knowledge and knowledge ownership, and relational power dissonance where the spirit of knowledge sharing imbued in the mission of the system challenges the relational power position between the affected stakeholder groups. Understanding the implications of these issues can be used to inform a requirements engineering process for these kinds of software applications.

An agent-mediated approach to the support of knowledge sharing in organizations

“…After the knowledge repository was running for around one year, we conducted a user satisfaction survey, reported in [28]. Two main conclusions from this survey were:…”

Personalized support for knowledge sharing

“…After the knowledge repository was running for around one year, we conducted a user satisfaction survey, reported in [8]. Two main conclusions from this survey were that (1) the face-to-face structure was well appreciated and its value clear, but (2) the benefit and potential of the knowledge repository was not always clear to the users, and the repository was hardly used.…”

“…KM is defined as a systematic, holistic approach to the sustainable improvement of the handling of knowledge on all levels of an organization [6]. Practitioners and business managers alike agree that issues of technology, process, people, and content must be addressed in KM to achieve success [8]. KM activities include the identification, acquisition, preservation, dissemination and use of enterprise knowledge to be able to respond to rapid changes in a knowledge-based economy.…”

Groupware requirements evolution patterns

“…It is argued that acceptance results from the fit between the technology and user tasks as well as a match with context of the users (Andriessen 2003;Zigurs & Buckland 1998;Collis et al 1999). Failure to effectively support the regular day-to-day tasks of insurance workers led to the abandonment of a knowledge sharing system (Pumareja et al 2005;. Instead of providing assistance to users to perform their tasks better, using the system became an extra task for these users.…”

“…In a separate analysis of the case, Pumareja and Sikkel (2005) have offered the perspective of power dissonance in understanding why knowledge management systems implementations fail. According to their analysis, knowledge sharing can be seen a process of relinquishing power because one's knowledge is a source of power.…”