Collaborative Research: Field Studies of Organizational Memory and Information Reuse

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to investigate the retrieval and reuse of information in organizations. Research has shown that many organizations waste valuable information because these processes are complicated and difficult. Detailed systematic insights are necessary to understand how organizations can more effectively reuse information and engage in productive "knowledge management" practices. Based on their previous work, the PIs will examine key theoretical issues through micro-level distributed cognition analyses in two technical support organizations to better understand these processes and organizational practices. Such a project is necessary to move beyond the hype often associated with the discourse about knowledge management in the scholarly and management literatures.