Toward a survey instrument for investigating customer knowledge management in software companies

This paper presents a method of developing an instrument for Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) in Enterprise Software (ES) development. Knowledge-Based View (KBV) and Theory of Technology in a Generic CKM framework were used to demonstrate the Organizational, Human, and Technological factors that enable the CKM process. Human, Organizational and Technological CKM enablers were identified from the literature. The weight and priority of these factors were determined by experts from the ES development companies. Based on the high priority factors, we hypothesized the constructs and develop measurement items to be validated. The measurement items are adopted from the previous validated sources. The instrument was evaluated using content validity and a pilot study. A Content Validity Index (CVI) approach was used to validate the instruments in term of relevancy and simplicity. During the content validity, the number of measurement items was reduced from 50 to 46. Moreover, the survey questionnaire of this study can be used as the foundation for the development of policy as well as strategy to enhance the probability of successful implementing the CKM

Customer knowledge management antecedent factors for enterprise software quality

Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) plays an important role in the production of high quality software products. Previous studies have only focused on the technical aspects of software quality. However, because of the nature of enterprise software, there is a greater dependence on CKM for customization, enhancement, maintenance, and training. As CKM in Enterprise Software (ES) development is still immature, this raises questions on how CKM can help ES development companies to improve their software quality. In this research, Knowledge-Based View (KBV) and Theory of Technology were used to demonstrate the Organizational, Human, and Technological antecedent factors that enable the CKM process and lead to ES quality. Human, Organizational and Technological CKM antecedent factors were identified from the literature. The importance degree of each factor was determined by experts from ES development companies using Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Moreover, based on high priority factors, a theoretical model was developed. The proposed model was evaluated by distributing a survey questionnaire to decision-makers in ES development companies. With 164 valid questionnaires received, the collected data was analyzed using the Partial Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results show that Customer Involvement together with Senior Management Support were the most influential factors. There was no impact from Organizational Training, Customer Knowledge Map, and CKM Strategy Development. The results revealed that the impact of CKM on software quality is significant. The model developed in this research can be used as a guideline for the successful application of CKM in enterprise software development companies to improve the software quality