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Can Shadow IT Facilitate Knowledge Sharing in Organizations? An Exploratory Study
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Oliveira, Mirian Maria De Mallmann, Gabriela Labres Maçada, Antonio Carlos Gastaud |
| Copyright Year | 2016 |
| Abstract | Employees increasingly use unauthorized technologies at the workplace, referred to as Shadow Information Technology (SIT). Previous Research identifies that shadow technologies are often collaborative systems used by employees to communicate and share content with co-workers, clients, or external partners. Considering that Shadow Information Technology is often a collaborative system, and its usage has the objective of effective and productive completion of work tasks, we propose that this employee initiative, called Shadow Information Technology, can stimulate organizational knowledge sharing (KS), which is central to knowledge management practices. Knowledge sharing can leverage innovation and organizational learning, increase productivity, among others benefits. Thus, this research aims to analyze how knowledge sharing occurs via Shadow Information Technology. This is an exploratory study based on a qualitative approach. We performed interviews with ten Information Technology users to understand how knowledge sharing occurs through Shadow Information Technology. Our findings identify that most of the respondents use collaborative systems and mobile devices unauthorized by the Information Technology department to share knowledge and communicate faster with their co-workers. The most common shadow systems cited are WhatsApp and Skype, as well as solutions to store and share content, like Google Drive. In addition, several employees reported using Shadow Information Technology mainly because organizations do not provide suitable tools to communicate efficiently. We conclude that Shadow Information Technology can facilitate knowledge sharing, especially when people are geographically distributed, since these shadow systems provide faster and dynamic communication. Our theoretical contribution is to expand current knowledge about Shadow Information Technology and reinforce the importance and prevalence of informal and decentralized knowledge sharing within organizations. As for the practical implications, our paper can help Information Technology managers to understand Shadow Information Technology usage, how they can balance the risk and benefits of this phenomenon, and how knowledge sharing can be facilitated by Shadow technologies. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://repositorio.pucrs.br/dspace/bitstream/10923/10199/2/Can_Shadow_IT_Facilitate_Knowledge_Sharing_in_Organizations_An_Exploratory_Study.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
