Investigating Knowledge Management Utilization Antecedents: A Conceptual Framework for Empirical Investigation

Abstract

The recognition of knowledge as an indispensable asset to be managed has attracted significant interests to knowledge management (KM) and its associated systems. While KM has gained much attention from different research perspectives, studies on its tools otherwise known as knowledge management systems (KMS) appear scanty and at infant stage. An important area demanding attention is the need to explore the factors contributing to effective utilization of KMS, as the success of KMS implementations depends on utilization. This paper is an attempt to provide conceptual understanding of an effective KMS utilization through a proposed conceptual model. The framework built on previous research frameworks and models to propose the socio-technical antecedents that can be categorized into organizational, individual and technical factors; influencing KMS utilization in organizations. The introduction of user’ commitment and motivation and how other factors influence these variables in the utilization of KMS is a novelty that is hoped to be of significant contribution in understanding KMS utilization. Based on the proposed framework, several propositions are formulated as the basis for the study that will follow