Assessing User Acceptance of a Knowledge Management System in a Global Bank: Process Analysis and Concept Development

Many organizations pursue knowledge management (KM) initiatives, with different degrees of success. One key aspect of KM often neglected in practice is that it not only concerns technology. Technology merely provides the tools with which employees can leverage their knowledge in the context of their work. Thus, how employees perceive the technology and interact with it is assumed to play a major role in KM initiatives´ success. This paper analyses patterns of user behavior and acceptance of knowledge management systems (KMS) to identify their relevance for a KM initiative´s overall success. Using a combined single case study and literature review approach, we develop a model of user behavior and acceptance of KMS. By combining the user acceptance model with a model of context-specific influencing factors and the integrated KMS architecture by Riempp, we also present an integrated framework for approaching KM initiatives