The acceptance of corporate wiki use for knowledge diffusion purposes

Abstract

Purpose Scholars and practitioners alike view knowledge as a crucial organisational asset. Over the past decade, several knowledge management (KM) technologies have emerged, such as wikis. A wiki is a web-based hypertext application that supports a collaborative and conversational approach to KM. While wikis are generally simple to use, their adoption for managing organisational knowledge sometimes meets resistance from employees. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting the user acceptance of organisational wikis as a means of knowledge creation and diffusion. Design/methodology/approach Building on the existing research on KM and information technology adoption, this study identified the following factors: the relevance of top management support for and complexity of enterprise wikis as well as technical support and knowledge-sharing self-efficacy. A cross-sectional survey was employed to examine the influence of these factors on employees’ acceptance of corporate wikis. Overall, 102 employees participated in the online survey, and the data collected were analysed using the partial least squares method. Findings The research model developed demonstrates that top management support, technical support and knowledge-sharing self-efficacy have a positive significant effect on employees’ willingness to use wikis for knowledge-creation purposes within organisations. Originality/value The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature on the implementation of wikis as a KM technology by developing a theoretical model explaining employees’ acceptance of this technology. Organisations could use this model to guide and facilitate wiki initiatives.