| In the current economy, organizations increasingly view knowledge as a critical component of their competitive advantage. However, except for anecdotal and case based illustrations of the value of viewing organizational competitiveness from a knowledge based perspective, there is little large-scale empirical evidence to support these claims. It is also widely recognized that individuals within the organization are the basic elements and the source of organizational knowledge. In spite of this, it has become common to view knowledge management as an organizational or group level phenomenon, and the question of how individuals who constitute the group and organization manage what they know has received relatively little attention in the literature.; Drawing on behavioral and learning theories, this research investigates various factors that impact how individuals manage their knowledge, and how such extended behaviors influence the outcomes that are commonly attributed to their better management of knowledge. This research focuses on these individual behaviors in the context of information technology supported knowledge work since today's knowledge work is substantially integrated with diverse information technologies. A manufacturing related environment is chosen to test the proposed hypotheses because of a wide variety of work settings and information technologies available in this context.; Following a pre-test and pilot, large-scale analysis utilized data collected from 252 individuals. The results of the analysis suggest that cognitive effort involved in their work, empowerment and information technology support available significantly impact the individuals' knowledge management practice. Other work characteristics such as virtualness of work and slack time available did not have a significant direct impact on their knowledge management practice. Virtualness, however, contributed to the degree to which the work would be perceived as cognitively demanding. The three dimensions of community of practice also did not have a significant direct impact on the respondent's knowledge management practices. The structural and cognitive aspects; however, had a significant impact on the relational dimension. Further, consistent with other cognitive theories, the relational dimension influenced individuals' knowledge management practices through their cognitive empowerment. Greater engagement in various knowledge management practices by these individuals led to increased task related knowledge and better performance. |
