Knowledge management systems and organizational knowledge processing challenges: A field experiment

Based on the literature on decision support systems, we develop propositions about the appropriateness of knowledge management system (KMS) designs for different organizational knowledge processing challenges. An exploratory field experiment is conducted in the context of Internet-based online knowledge sharing services to provide empirical support for our propositions. The results of our experiment show that a KMS designed to support the goal GENERATE is more appropriate for divergent type knowledge problems because of its affordances for iterative brainstorming processes. Conversely, for convergent type knowledge processing challenges, the ability to clarify and to analyze will make a KMS with the goal CHOOSE more effective.