Participatory action research to support professional development and learning technology adoption at an engineering firm

This participatory action research project explored the progression and collaborative efforts of 15 learning cohorts working to pinpoint and strengthen effective uses of an enterprise content management system (ECMS) as a knowledge sharing and learning platform at an engineering firm near Boston, Massachusetts. Over a 6-month period participants examined existing perceptions and varying uses of an ECMS, steered and attended professional development, pinpointed and communicated varying conceptualizations of best practice, and inaugurated an ECMS community of practice. Instrumentation in this study comprised the diagnostic instruments of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) and focused observations of proceedings. This study revealed specific barriers associated with implementations, how an organization assesses, guides, and works to strengthen effective uses, and what specific cultural drivers impact implementation of an ECMS in knowledge sharing and learning.