THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING EXPERTS

Implementation Process of Corporate Yellow Pages

Stéphanie Gretsch, Heinz Mandl and Jan Hense

Institute of Empirical Education and Educational Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilian University

Leopoldstraße 13, Munich, Germany

Keywords: Knowledge Management, Needs Analysis, Implementation Process, Design and Development, Expert

Finding System, Effect Analysis.

Abstract: Knowledge management (KM) has often been identified as one of the most important challenges for

sustained organizational success. A number of theoretical models and practical projects to improve KM

have been developed, but were unsatisfactory and took a general approach while neglecting a specific

implementation process for KM. This paper presents a systematic implementation process for a KM

initiative based on a needs analysis, which was conducted in an international biotechnological company.

The implementation process comprises three phases: Diagnosis of KM problems and goal setting of a

specific intervention; design and development of this intervention; and rollout of the intervention. The

phases comprises three empirical studies: a needs analysis (study 1), a study on design and development

(study 2), and an effect analysis after the rollout (study 3). Results of study 1 show that there are needs for

improving the documentation, communication and utilization of knowledge about specific expertise of

individual employees and experiences with projects. To fulfil these requirements it was decided to design

and develop an expert finding system “corporate yellow pages” (study 2). Finally the paper will give an

outlook on the effects of corporate yellow pages concerning the utilization, acceptance, individual and

organizational effects (study 3).

1 INTRODUCTION

Knowledge management (KM) has often been

identified as one of the most important challenges

for sustained organizational success and as a

prerequisite for productivity and flexibility of

corporate and non-corporate organizations. Due to

the global interconnectedness of markets today, the

scope and quality of individual employees’

knowledge have taken their place alongside more

traditional organizational resources such as work

and capital. Knowledge is now viewed as a key

contributor to an organization’s competitive

advantage. Therefore it is necessary to explicitly

plan and manage the development, consolidation,

representation and application of knowledge of

organizations and individuals. As a consequence of

the growing importance of knowledge, a number of

theoretical models and practical projects to improve

knowledge management (KM) have been developed

in recent years (Schwartz, 2006).

However, many of these efforts were

unsatisfactory and many expectations put into KM

initiatives could not be met in practice. One

explanation for these shortcomings is that previous

efforts often took a general approach while

neglecting a specific implementation process for

KM. Moreover, only few KM projects consider how

to systematically proceed in the context of

improvement and implementation processes from

existing needs in an organization. Introducing

innovations in organizations is seldom

unproblematic. In many cases, the purpose of

introducing a new concept, such as a KM initiative,

is unclear, too abstract or too generally formulated.

Consequently, new developed tools are often

doomed to failure from the outset due to the fact that

there is no adequate target group for utilization or it

fails to win the intended users’ acceptance. One

reason is that many innovations do not meet the

actual needs of employees (Akhavan et al., 2005;

Chua and Lam, 2005).

To overcome these shortcomings this paper

presents a systematic theoretically and empirically

based implementation process of a KM initiative in a

specific area of application which was conducted in

Gretsch S., Mandl H. and Hense J..

THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING EXPERTS - Implementation Process of Corporate Yellow Pages.

DOI: 10.5220/0003637500480056

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing (KMIS-2011), pages 48-56

ISBN: 978-989-8425-81-2

 2011 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

an international biotechnological company. The

implementation process comprises three main phases

that complement each other. Phase 1 consists of a

diagnosis of knowledge management problems and

goal settings of a specific intervention; phase 2 is

concerned about the design and development of this

intervention; and in phase 3 the rollout of the

intervention takes place. The process with its three

phases is driven by three empirical studies (Winkler

and Mandl, 2007) (see figure 1).

Phase 1

Diagnosis of knowledge

management problems

Goal setting of a

specific intervention.

Phase 2

Design and development

of the intervention

Phase 3

Rollout of the

intervention

Study 1

What are important

needs concerning

KM in an

organization?

Study 2

How to design and

develop a KM

intervention?

Study 3

What input and process

factors influence

the outcome?

Phase 1

Diagnosis of knowledge

management problems

Goal setting of a

specific intervention.

Phase 2

Design and development

of the intervention

Phase 3

Rollout of the

intervention

Study 1

What are important

needs concerning

KM in an

organization?

Study 2

How to design and

develop a KM

intervention?

Study 3

What input and process

factors influence

the outcome?

Figure 1: Implementation process with according studies.

The implementation study was conducted in the

Research and Development (R&D) department of an

international biotechnological company. The

management recognized a general need concerning

knowledge exchange within the company due to the

regionally wide distributed sites of the R&D

department. As a consequence of a number of recent

company mergers, there were two R&D sites in

Germany, one in Switzerland, two in the United

States and one in Australia, resulting in the problem

of improving the company’s KM.

According to the phases three studies are

presented. The first study analyzed differentiated

needs for improving KM in the R&D department to

derive more explicitly needs-driven KM initiatives

from this differentiated perspective (study 1).

Subsequently, it was decided to develop a needs-

oriented KM intervention, an expert finding system,

to pursue organizational needs (study 2). This KM

initiative is especially profitably for organizations

that are distributed geographically as in our case

study, where it is less likely to communicate face-to-

face as it takes place on usual forms of interaction

among employees (Frappaolo, 2006). A third study

will evaluate the effects and outcomes on utilization,

acceptance, individual and organizational effects of

the expert finding system (study 3).

2 STUDY 1: WHAT ARE

IMPORTANT NEEDS

CONCERNING KM IN AN

ORGANIZATION?

2.1 Theoretical Background

From a theoretical viewpoint, it is important to

differentiate different process categories of KM.

According to the Munich Knowledge Management

model

these central dimensions are (1) knowledge

representation, (2) knowledge communication, (3)

knowledge generation, and (4) knowledge utilization

(Reinmann- Rothmeier et al., 2001).

(1) Knowledge representation describes processes

which make knowledge transparent. These include

identification, preparation and documentation,

storage and updating of knowledge. Important

aspects in this context are databases, knowledge

cases, and information strategies within an

organization. The main goal of knowledge

representation is to present knowledge in a way

which facilitates transfer, exchange, maintenance

and utilization of knowledge at the organization.

(2) Knowledge communication includes all

processes and methods for sharing and

disseminating knowledge within the company. On

an organizational level, this broaches the issue of

incentives and career structures, which may promote

or hinder the dissemination of knowledge, and the

use of technical support tools such as intranet, E-

mail or business TV.

(3) Knowledge generation comprises activities for

knowledge acquisition, for the creation of specific

knowledge resources, and for the generation of

personal and technical knowledge networks. Pre-

manufacturing, as well as research and development

departments often play a primary role in the

generation of knowledge on the organizational level,

while further education and training is crucial on the

individual level.

(4) Knowledge utilization includes processes such as

the use of knowledge in managerial decisions, or

transformation of knowledge into products and

services. Only knowledge which previously has been

represented, communicated and generated, can be

applied in practice, either on an organizational or

individual level.

2.2 Research Question

The differentiated approach takes into consideration

needs configurations in regard to different KM

THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING EXPERTS - Implementation Process of Corporate Yellow Pages

dimensions. Accordingly, the main question of study

1 was: To what extend is there a need for improving

KM in the R&D department of the organization

regarding (a) knowledge representation, (b)

knowledge communication, (c) knowledge

generation, and (d) knowledge utilization?

2.3 Method

After a preparatory qualitative pre-study, which

comprised interviews with managers of the

organization, 163 employees from different sites of

the research and development (R&D) department

answered an online questionnaire on their needs for

KM. There were specific questions concerning the

actual state of the four knowledge management

domains: knowledge documentation (22 items),

knowledge communication (14 items), knowledge

generation (9 items), and knowledge utilization (12

items).

2.4 Results

Central results will be presented below.

(a) In regard to knowledge documentation the most

important need was identified for improving

documentation on the specific expertise of

individual employees (as suggested by 47.3% of the

respondents). Moreover, respondents identified a

number of needs for improving the documentation of

experiences with projects (45.9%), or with external

cooperation partners (42.5%).

Table 1: Main results knowledge documentation.

n No Neutral Yes

Knowledge is sufficiently

documented in regard to

knowledge about specific

expertise of individual

employees

146 47,3% 33,6% 19,2%

Experiences with projects are

sufficiently documented.

148 45,9% 35,1% 18,9%

Experiences with external

cooperation partners are

sufficiently documented.

127 42,5% 37,8% 19,7%

Note: „no“= answers 1 or 2; „neutral“= answer 3; „yes“= answers 4

or 5

(b) Referring to knowledge communication,

respondents indicated that there are no appropriate

opportunities for knowledge communication

(38.2%) and for networking with relevant colleagues

(38.1%) and that there is no sufficient knowledge

exchange (36.7%).

Table 2: Main results knowledge communication.

n No Neutral Yes

There are appropriate

opportunities for knowledge

communication between

different company sites.

136 38,2% 39,0% 22,8%

I have sufficient opportunities

for networking with relevant

colleagues at other sites.

134 38,1% 40,3% 21,6%

Relevant knowledge is

sufficiently exchanged

between this site and other

company sites.

139 36,7% 42,4% 20,9%

Note: „no“= answers 1 or 2; „neutral“= answer 3; „yes“= answers 4

or 5

to the respondents the only specific aspect which

needed improvements was to create more

opportunities for acquiring new knowledge by job

rotation (68.6%).

(d) Finally, concerning knowledge utilization,

respondents indicated that there are no standard

operating procedures for using existing experiences

(50.4%) or knowledge (45.9%). Furthermore the

respondents stated that documented knowledge

(28.4%) or previous experiences (30.0%) are not

always used adequately in new projects.

Table 3: Main results knowledge utilization.

n No Neutral

Yes

There are standard operating

procedures for using existing

experiences.

133

50,4

29,3% 20,3%

There are standard operating

procedures for using existing

knowledge.

135

45,9

30,4% 23,7%

Previous experiences are

always used adequately in new

projects.

140

30,0

42,1% 27,9%

Note: „no“= answers 1 or 2; „neutral“= answer 3; „yes“= answers 4

or 5

2.5 Consequences

The outcomes of the needs analysis study allow a

differentiated view of KM needs in the R&D

department. In particular, the specific analysis of

needs in regard to different KM dimensions revealed

that there is an explicit need for improving

knowledge documentation, above all knowledge

about specific expertise of individual employees and

experiences with projects and external cooperation

partners. Moreover there was a need for improving

knowledge communication in particular

KMIS 2011 - International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing

opportunities for exchanging and networking with

employees from other R&D sites. Furthermore there

was a need to improve knowledge utilization,

especially the use of knowledge and experiences in

new projects. To meet these needs, it was decided to

develop and implement a “corporate yellow pages”

expert finding system as an initial improvement

project. Corporate yellow pages are an optimal KM

intervention to encourage aspects of knowledge

documentation, above all knowledge about specific

expertise of individual employees and experiences

with projects and external cooperation by creating

profiles of employees and documenting their

expertise knowledge, experiences or networks.

Regarding knowledge communication, especially

opportunities for exchanging and networking with

employees from other R&D sites, corporate yellow

pages give the opportunity to search for experts and

to interact between employees by exchanging

knowledge and experiences. Knowledge utilization,

like the use of knowledge and experiences in new

projects is supported by corporate yellow pages

while exchanging knowledge between experts,

expert knowledge and experiences into new projects

are transferred.

All in all the needs analysis study took about

three months from starting the project to the

evaluation of results.

In the following details of the design and

development of the planned corporate yellow pages

will be presented in study 2.

3 STUDY 2: HOW TO DESIGN

AND DEVELOP CORPORATE

YELLOW PAGES AS A KM

INTERVENTION?

3.1 Theoretical Background

Expert finding systems (aka corporate “corporate

yellow pages”) are considered to be an effective and

less time-consuming instrument to support above all

knowledge communication in organizations (Probst

et al., 2010).

Corporate yellow pages aim to assist users in finding

experts with specific knowledge, competencies, or

experiences within the company. They cover the

specific knowledge of all relevant organizational

members, independently of their position. They are

expected to help members of large, often widely

geographically dispersed organizations, in finding

out who has specific expertise in a problem area.

This is essential for finding support in complex

problem solving situations, or for getting critical

knowledge for making decisions.

Supporting people by finding required

knowledge is essential for a successful KM system.

Expert finding systems can stimulate exchange and

learning processes in the organization (Lehner,

2008). Other potential advantages which are often

mentioned in the literature can be the visibility of

expert knowledge to all employees, the development

of communities of experts, and the quickness of

support from relevant experts. Accordingly, expert

finding systems are expected to advance information

seeking for work processes and knowledge

development.

Another important factor is the encouragement

of exchanging knowledge and experiences, thus

giving employees the opportunity to transfer implicit

knowledge into explicit knowledge (Eppler, 2003).

The exchange between experts by means of an

expert finding system can be a chance to exchange

tacit knowledge (Polanyi, 1966) in a highly situated

context between employees.

Potentially adverse effects can result if

unauthorized users have insights into a corporate

yellow pages system. Furthermore there is risk of

information overload, misconstruction and out-of-

datedness (Eppler, 2003).

The results of empirical research on factors

relevant for conceptualization, realization, and

success of expert finding systems are not entirely

conclusive. Nevertheless, a number of factors in

regard to content, organizational, and technical

aspects can be identified.

3.2 Conceptualization of Corporate

Yellow Pages

3.2.1 Content Aspects

The core and main component of corporate yellow

pages are employee’s profiles (Idinopulos and

Kempler, 2006). The goal of these profiles is to give

the intended searcher a basis of decision-making,

whether someone is an adequate expert for a

problem definition or not. Moreover profiles are the

basis for knowledge communication, which should

be initiated through the use of corporate yellow

pages (Lin et al., 2008).

Content aspects comprise the kinds of

information which a single corporate yellow pages

profile can consist of.

- Contact Details: How to contact an expert is a

trivially, yet essential content for yellow page entries

(Woudstra and Van den Hooff, 2008).

THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING EXPERTS - Implementation Process of Corporate Yellow Pages

- Knowledge: Each employee’s knowledge is also

an essential aspect, as without knowing what

someone else knows it is not possible to find a

person with specific expertise (Cross et al., 2006).

Knowledge types which can be relevant include

technical knowledge, experiential knowledge from

previous projects, as well as knowledge on research,

products, or customers.

- Domain of Knowledge: To facilitate searching

for experts in specific knowledge domains, it may be

important to predefine a closed set or taxonomy of

knowledge domains relevant for the organization

(Helm et al., 2007). However, it is important to limit

the number of predefined domains (Lehner, 2008)

and keep them flexible for future additions

- Quality of Knowledge: In addition to

knowledge types and topics, information on the

validity, credibility, or soundness of the expert’s

knowledge may be an important element of a

person’s entry (Woudstra & Van den Hooff, 2008).

- Up-to-dateness: Including information on how

recently an entry has been checked for being up to

date helps in rating the entry (Woudstra & Van den

Hooff, 2008).

3.2.2 Organizational Aspects

Organizational aspects refer to the structures,

processes, and rules associated with the expert

finding system in the organization.

- Voluntariness: Entry of one’ own profile

should be voluntary. Participation in the system

should reflect a sincere readiness to exchange

knowledge and to support one’s colleagues

(Hofmann et al., 2010).

- Motivation: Motivation of employees is

fundamental for a successful implementation of

corporate yellow pages. Motivational measures

could be a transparent and comprehensive

communication strategy, measures of qualification,

management support, as well as participation of

employees (Finke & Will, 2003).

- Bottom Up Entry: Entries and updates of

personnel profiles within the corporate yellow pages

system should be entered by employees themselves,

as they are the ones who are most competent to do

so (Lehner, 2008).

- Organizational Climate: Trust and

responsible handling of entries are important aspects

for dealing with corporate yellow pages (Lehner,

2008; Soliman and Spooner, 2000).

- Support from Top Management: Support

from management is crucial for the success of

knowledge management as they are providing time

to employees for exchanging knowledge; as they are

allocating sufficient budget for implementing

knowledge management; as they are introducing

“new mindset” and acting as example by filling out

their own profile in the system and as they are

giving priority to knowledge management (Helm et

al., 2007).

- Participation: Employees are informed about

the implementation processes and included in

decision-making processes (Helm et al., 2007).

3.2.3 Technical Aspects

Technical aspects refer to design features of the

hard- and software of the platform used to realize the

expert finding system.

- Accessibility: Knowing what someone else

knows is only useful if there is a prompt access to

this information (Woudstra and Van den Hooff,

2008).

- Usability: Requirements which are important for

optimizing the usability of the system include

perceptibility, operability, intelligibility, and

sustainability (Stapelkamp, 2007).

- Design: Fundamental design aspects to be

considered are perception, colour, typography,

orientation, navigation, layout, style guide, and

screen and information design (Stapelkamp, 2007).

- Safety: Security precautions have to be taken to

avoid misuse by external knowledge transmission or

even headhunting of important employees (Lehner,

2008).

Before developing corporate yellow pages, it is

fundamental to analyze the specific needs for such a

system, and to make sure that there are appropriate

context conditions in regard to content,

organizational and technical aspects. The goal is to

ensure that the new tool is relevant for everyday

workplace activities, that it finds the intended users’

acceptance, and subsequently is used by employees.

In this context, it is evident that a comprehensive

procedure for a purposeful and acceptance-oriented

implementation must precede an introduction of the

expert finding system. This procedure should

concentrate on the needs of the end user in order to

actually contribute to the optimization of their

business processes.

According to this, a kick-off workshop was

organized for discussing the goals of the expert

finding system as well as for building a task force

responsible for managing the overall project.

Subsequently a design analysis study was conducted

with employees in the R&D department to learn

about the specific needs concerning content,

organizational and technical aspects for

conceptualization and design of the planned expert

finding system.

KMIS 2011 - International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing

3.3 Research Questions Concerning

the Design and Development of

Corporate Yellow Pages

(a) What content, organizational, design-related and

technical aspects should be considered for the design

and development of corporate yellow pages?

(b) How user-friendly are the developed corporate

yellow pages?

3.4 Method (Question a)

35 organizational members (senior managers,

managers, knowledge managers and employees),

from different R&D departments were interviewed

on questions of content, organizational, design-

related and technical aspects concerning their needs

of an expert finding system.

3.5 Results (Question a)

Respondents confirmed the urgent need for an expert

finding system. Concerning content questions

respondents spoke in favour of following aspects

that should be considered in corporate yellow pages:

contact details (N=24), experiences with projects

(N=20), knowledge domains of R&D expertise

(N=19), qualifications (N=17), work experience

(N=17), experiences with products (N=11).

In regard to organizational aspects 8 of 35

respondents mentioned that the entry should be

voluntary, 7 respondents were for obligatory entry

and 5 for a combination of both. 16 respondents

were in favour of each employee should update his

profile himself. To ensure the acceptance of

corporate yellow pages, there were also collected

suggestions concerning conditions, measures and

incentives. Regarding conditions respondents

mentioned: support by manager (N=14),

communication measures (N=13), usability (N=10)

and company-wide introduction of corporate yellow

pages (N=9). As adequate measures for the success

of corporate yellow pages respondents named

trainings (N=9) and the function of a knowledge

manager (N=6). 6 respondents were against

incentives.

Beside this respondents mentioned also some

obstacles that could influence the success if

corporate yellow pages: time-consuming (N=8),

complicated handling (N=7) or not enough

communication measures from management (N=4).

Finally, in regard to technical questions,

specifications for the technical implementation and

user interface design could be clarified, for example

9 respondents mentioned that SharePoint could be

suitable. Concerning the search form, respondents

(N=15) preferred a combination of search functions,

keyword search and searching by categories.

3.6 Conclusion (Question a)

Results of the design analysis give essential

information about the needs of employees

concerning corporate yellow pages and serve as a

central basis for the conceptualization. The selection

of content, organizational and technical aspects was

chosen according to the amount of mentions of

respondents and discussions in-between the task

force.

Concerning the content concept following main

content fields will be integrated in corporate yellow

pages: Contact details; expert knowledge in R&D,

developed products, current product development

projects, networks and qualifications.

In regard to the organizational concept it was

decided that all entries should be voluntary except of

contact details. This decision point was strongly

related to the claims of the works council. Moreover

to ensure the acceptance of corporate yellow pages

managers are obligated to support their employees

concerning the utilization of corporate yellow pages

(e.g. giving more time for utilization) and to carry

out communication measures (e.g. company wide

introduction). To give opportunities for getting

practical knowledge about the handling of corporate

yellow pages trainings and tutorials are planned.

According to employees no incentives will be

integrated besides striving for the usefulness of

corporate yellow pages.

Relating to the technical concept, a technical

workgroup of R&D members and external

consultant are working in collaboration for

designing and developing corporate yellow pages.

As system basis a customized SharePoint will be

implemented, including different ways of search

functions. Furthermore usability tests are

implemented to grant a user-friendly system.

3.7 Methodological Procedure

(Question b)

The study concerning the user-friendliness of

corporate yellow pages analyses in a first step the

functionality according to specific content,

organizational and technical aspects. In a second

step after the technical development of the expert

finding system which is currently under process

there will be analyzed the usability in a multi-

evaluation model. Usability is a quality attribute

THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING EXPERTS - Implementation Process of Corporate Yellow Pages

assessing the simpleness in dealing with user

interfaces. Usability is defined by several quality

components: learnability, efficiency, memorability,

errors, satisfaction or utility (Nielsen, 1994).

Four task force members will analyze the

functionality of content, organizational and technical

aspects according to the conceptualization and the

usability of corporate yellow pages individually by a

checklist and will summarize the results in a

discussion round. Based on their feedback, the

technical workgroup will update the expert finding

system.

In the pilot study will take place a diagnostic and

performance evaluation with intended users. 10

organizational members from R&D department will

test the usability of corporate yellow pages through

the thinking aloud method with task scenarios

followed by a usability test through a questionnaire

(based on QUIS and IsoMetrics). The QUIS

(Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction) was

designed to assess users' subjective satisfaction with

specific aspects of the human-computer interface. It

includes specific interface factors like screen

factors, terminology and system feedback and

learning factors like system capabilities, technical

manuals, on-line tutorials, multimedia,

teleconferencing, and software installation (Chin et

al., 1988). IsoMetrics is a user-oriented approach in

software evaluation based on ISO 9241 Part 10

including seven dialogue principles: suitability for

the task, self-descriptiveness, controllability,

conformity with user expectations, error tolerance,

suitability for individualization, and suitability for

learning (Gediga et al., 1999).

After the tests again the technical workgroup

will revise the expert finding system and then it will

be launched in the whole R&D department.

The implementation study required a timeline of

about a year including the conceptualization,

technical development and implementation,

development of acceptance and communication

strategies as well as revise sessions of the system.

4 OUTLOOK STUDY 3: WHAT

INPUT AND PROCESS

FACTORS INFLUENCE THE

SUCCESS OF CORPORATE

YELLOW PAGES?

After the rollout of corporate yellow pages a

comprehensive and systematic evaluation should

take into consideration the entire chain of effects

from the initialization of the implementation process

to the final impact of the intervention (see figure 2).

Figure 2: Design of evaluation.

In doing so different evaluation activities may

refer to three main components:

(1) Input Factors comprising individual factors as

motivation, willingness and job relevance;

organizational factors as infrastructure of KM

which results from the implementation process

including attitude of management, support measures

or organizational culture and technical factors as

design and usability.

(3) Process Factors including any KM process due

to the intervention for example interaction among

employees.

(4) Outcome Factors referring to the utilization as

quality of support or frequency; acceptance of

attitude and behaviour; individual effects as time

saving, problem solving or increase of employee and

customer satisfaction; and organizational effects like

improvement of decision-making processes,

improvement of product developments and project

realizations, reduction of mistakes or cost savings

(Hanley and Malafsky, 2003; Tiwana, 2000).

In focus of interest are also potential

relationships between these effects, and what the

single factors and processes contribute to the

intended outcomes. An important goal will be the

formative improvement of infrastructure and

implementation of KM for optimizing effects.

Relevant research questions will be (Hense and

Mandl, 2010):

- What role does the infrastructure play for

processes, outputs and outcomes of KM?

- How do KM processes affect outcomes on

individual and organizational level? (Helm et

al., 2007)

- What relations exist between input, process and

outcome variables?

- What input and process factors have an effect

on the acceptance, utilization, individual effects

and organizational effects?

- What are the direct dependencies among input,

process and outcome variables and what success

factors can be identified?

KMIS 2011 - International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing

5 FINAL CONCLUSIONS

As demonstrated, the implementation of knowledge

management measures in organizations is a complex

undertaking. Especially the importance of the human

factor should not be underestimated. A successful

implementation can be achieved through well

thought-out, employee-oriented implementation

processes. By using a process model, it is possible to

strategically support employee-oriented

implementation processes that prevent reactance and

increase employee’s acceptance of the innovation

(Winkler and Mandl, 2007). It is very important to

integrate employees in different phases of the

implementation.

In our case study, at the beginning a needs

analysis was carried out, questioning all R&D

members. On the basis of the results of the needs

analysis it was decided to develop and to implement

an expert finding system. A task force responsible

for the project was formed, including employees

from different positions and regions. To

conceptualize the expert finding system, a content

analysis was conducted by interviewing employees.

Two workgroup with different employees were

formed at the one hand for building a taxonomy for

knowledge domains and on the other hand for the

technical realization of the system. Moreover a

usability test with employees concerning the

technical realization was executed. Finally after

revision sessions, the rollout of the expert finding

system is ongoing.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research is supported by the National Research

Fund Luxembourg.

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