User-Help Desk Knowledge Application Model

From Information Systems at Pitt Business

Knowledge management practices are aimed at facilitating interpersonal knowledge transfers between employees. In paper IS users (recipients) sought interpersonal knowledge transfers from IS consultants (sources) to fill some perceived gap in their technical knowledge. Thus, the knowledge to be transferred was relatively complex and uncertain to the recipient. In such contexts, the model predicts that the recipient will evaluate properties of the knowledge source and depend on this evaluation of the source to make the knowledge application decision.

For managers, an interesting question that ensues is how to enhance the source credibility of the knowledge-disseminating employees. Source perceptions are based on the amount and nature of the evidence available to the recipients. For instance, an employee may possess high levels of expertness, but evidence of the extent of this expertness may not be available to the recipient. Thus, managers may need to engage in training activities to enhance the actual expertness of the employees and in promotion activities within the organization to publicize the qualifications of the employees to enhance knowledge application. The KAM model suggests that providing all employees with both interpersonal skills and domain knowledge training, and providing potential knowledge recipients with evidence of the attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise of the knowledge disseminators, will enhance the effectiveness of knowledge transfers during interpersonal, knowledge transfer interactions.

[edit] Abstract 

The IS help desk function plays a central role in boundary spanning knowledge exchanges within organizations. Help desk employees provide technical support to users in an effort to transfer knowledge and enable users to autonomously apply this knowledge in the future. However, despite their importance, little is known about the factors that affect knowledge application within this context. Adopting interpersonal influence theory, this paper develops a model that examines how dimensions of source credibility - expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness impact users’ knowledge application in a help desk environment. The model is tested using a sample of working adults at a large Midwestern hospital who had significant experience requesting help from an IS help desk. Results indicate that all three dimensions of source credibility predict users’ ability to apply the knowledge transferred from a help desk employee. The implications of these results are discussed.

[edit] Paper Information

Authors: Christopher L. Carr, Patrick Bateman, Saral J. Navlakha

To read more check out the paper at They Call For Help, But Don’t Always Listen: Knowledge Application Model.pdf

This article is to be presented at AMCIS 2008

[edit] Keywords

Help Desk, Management Information Systems, Knowledge Application, End-User Computing