Exploratory Research on the Role of Information Professionals in
Knowledge Management Programs
Stewart Mohr, Doctoral Student, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, 4
Huntington St., Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. smohr@agere.com
Claire McInerney, Ph.D., School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers
University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. clairemc@scils.rutgers.edu
Stacy Mandelker, Research Assistant, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies,
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
Interest in knowledge management has accelerated rapidly since the mid-1990s due to the development of
supporting information technologies, the emergence of the world-wide web, initiation of research associated
with the topic, and the growing awareness that institutions have a large, untapped asset in the knowledge in
their work forces and in their unstructured institutional information resources. This poster presentation
describes an exploratory research effort completed in 2002 that collected information concerning organizations’
use of knowledge management programs and the attendant roles played by information professionals. Results
from a questionnaire distributed to for-profit, New Jersey-based organizations were combined with three indepth interviews to develop a preliminary picture of the utilization of these programs.
All of the responding organizations showed some level of engagement in formal knowledge management
programs with the highest being the use of tele- and video-conferencing for information exchange and e-mail
for the distribution of information to targeted audiences (12 organizations) (see Table 1). Other programs that
were cited included structured meetings and facilitated groupware (7) and formal knowledge management
programs (6). Informal methods were also utilized such as general-use e-mail and instant messaging (11) and
bulletin boards (6).
Measurement of organizations’ assessment of planned and unplanned benefits was done through a sevenpoint Likert scale with the following representing average values across responding organizations. The most
significant planned benefits were improved information flow (4.43), capture of potentially lost knowledge
(4.33), and improved access to organizational knowledge (4.07) (see Table 2). The lowest average score was
3.00 for both better management decision making and improved manufacturing. The only unplanned benefit
with a score over 4.00 was general awareness (4.21).
Information was collected about the factors that contributed to the success of the programs. The three that
received the highest average scores were technology resources (4.64), line management support (4.46) and
human resource practices and policies (4.0). The lowest average score was 3.33 for realistic timelines and
schedules indicating some negative impact of these factors on the development effort.
Four primary themes emerged from the collected survey and interview data:
 Most of the responding organizations were pursuing some knowledge management programs in either
formal or informal structures.
 Information technologies played a critical role as an enabling mechanism.
 Librarians and other information professional played important, if supporting, roles in the development
and deployment of the programs while information technology groups appeared to have played central
roles, highlighting the observation that information technology itself was the single most important
factor seen as contributing to the success of knowledge sharing.
 There was a perceived need to establish linkages between the management programs and the objectives
and plans of the parent organizations through the use of coordinated measurements.
This research effort was a preliminary one with a limited universe from which it drew data. Suggested
future research would include broadening the observational base to include other geographic areas and
organizational types and sizes, and gathering additional in-depth interviews to supplement and further ground
the survey data.
Table 1
Utilization of Formal and Informal Knowledge Management Programs
Breakfast meetings (F)
Other formal programs (F)
Formal knowledge sharing programs (F)
Type of Program
(F) Formal (I) Informal
Use of facilitating groupware (F)
Structured meetings (F)
E-mail distribution of news (F)
Tele- and videoconferencing (F)
Chat rooms, forums (I)
Other informal programs (I)
Bulletin boards (I)
E-mail and instant messaging (I)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Number of Organizations with Programs
14
Table 2
Assessment of Planned and Unplanned Benefits
Other (U and P)
Capture lost knowledge (P)
Improved competitive position (P)
Improved access to org. knowledge (P)
Improved information flow (P)
Type of Benefit
(P) Planned (U) Unplanned
Improved manufacturing / operations (P)
Better decision making (P)
Improved product design (P)
Improced cycle time (P)
Improved revenues (P)
Future cost avoidance (P)
Cost reduction (P)
Inter-group sharing of information (U)
General awareness (U)
Increased social interaction (U)
Organizational cohesiveness (U)
Improved morale (U)
0
1
2
3
4
Average Score
5
6
7