A Qualitative Approach to Examine Technology Acceptance

The research field of technology acceptance and software acceptance is a fertile field in the discipline of MIS. Acceptance research is mainly affected by the technology acceptance model (TAM). The TAM is counted as the major guideline for acceptance research. But recently more researchers discover the deficits of former acceptance research. The main cause of the criticism is the focus on quantitative research methods. We will show this with the help of former meta-studies and a literature review. Quantitative approaches are basically appropriate for the testing of theories. The development of new theories or constructs is followed to a lesser intent. In the article we will show how a qualitative approach can be used for theory-construction. We will introduce a qualitative research design and show how this approach can be used to develop new constructs of acceptance while some existing constructs taken from TAM and related theories cannot be confirmed

Knowledge Management without Management -- Shadow IT in Knowledge-intensive Manufacturing Practices

The voluntary use of private device by employees without formal approval of the IT department, commonly termed Shadow IT, is an increasingly widespread phenomenon. In this paper, we study the role of private smartphones (and related applications like WhatsApp) in knowledge-intensive practices in the manufacturing domain. With an in-depth case study based on data gained from observations and interviews, we are able to empirically illustrate why workers use their private smartphones (contrary to company guidelines) and how they find significant gains of productivity by using the ‘forbidden’ applications. Our study contributes to knowledge management research by showing how private IT use can change existing knowledge management practices. At the same time, we are able to give rich insights into the rise of Shadow IT in a manufacturing context which takes place in a self-organised way without knowledge of the management. This enables us to take a step towards a knowledge management strategy perspective on Shadow IT

How to bridge the boundary? Determinants of inter-organizational social software usage

Based on their positive experiences with intra-organizational enterprise social software (ESS), the first organizations are currently deploying ESS in an inter-organizational context. Nevertheless, hardly any research has addressed aspects pertaining to the commonalities of and differences between ESS and existing forms of inter-organizational information systems (IOS). Following an information-processing view, and based on a systematic literature review, as well as on the results of an exploratory interview study, we propose a conceptual model of inter-organizational ESS usage and relevant usage determinants. Some of these are known from prior studies, but have not yet been applied to an inter-organizational context (e.g., trust, knowledge sharing, security), whereas others were newly identified in our interview study (e.g., confidentiality, productiveness, dynamics). The proposed model extends the current understanding of IOS and helps address the field of inter-organizational ESS usage more appropriately in theory and practice