eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

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Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study was to find out which factors primarily have an effect on individual users' attitude and behavior toward a Knowledge Management System and its usage in a unique organizational context. The primary motivator for the objective was a specific organizational issue in the case company.

Academic background and methodology

This study used the varied and diverse findings of both user IS acceptance and adoption research and user IS resistance research. A model from the user IS resistance research stream was chosen as the primary theoretical framework.

The applied methodology was the case study methodology, as the nature of the organizational issue required findings reasons for how and why that specific predicament occurred and how it could be mitigated.

Findings and conclusions

The main finding of this study was that in failed Knowledge Management System (KMS) implementations user resistance tends to be apathetic in nature, and does not develop into more aggressive forms. This fact led to the finding that the utilized theoretical framework may not be applicable in KMS implementation contexts, although further research is needed before drawing absolute conclusions.

Additionally, several managerial implications were discovered: A clear vision for the KMS's usage purposes and processes must be thought prior to go-live, the implemented KMS must have a responsible person named for maintenance and administration, the user interface must meet the everyday needs of the user base and all users should have one starting point for navigation within the KMS.