Knowing Who Knows What: Information Technology, Knowledge Visibility, and Organizational Change

The current application of transactive memory theory to the use of knowledge management systems takes expertise as a central and relatively stable concept. However, expertise is a socially defined and contextually dependent construct. The present study examines how knowledge management tools can facilitate negotiations of expertise by displaying knowledge that was previously invisible to group members. This visible knowledge is then used to ascribe expertise to individuals and determine task assignments. In recognizing this function of the knowledge management system, group members may strategically monitor what information they and others contribute in order to position themselves as experts in particular domains. The implications of technologies that make individual knowledge visible to group members are discussed.