Abstract

Organizations have struggled to provide adequate system-related knowledge support to end users during enterprise system implementation. Prior research has examined the influence of system-related knowledge sourced from end users within workplace social networks on implementation outcomes. Drawing upon the actor-network theory, this study extends the social network to include knowledge sourced from three institutionally mandated entities, the shared inbox, help desk, and service desk. This multimodal approach provides a comprehensive view of knowledge flows across the organization as opposed to a partial view confined to end user interactions. In addition, knowledge sourced from institutionally mandated entities will be of higher quality than that acquired through informal end user interactions, and can have a significant impact on implementation outcomes. This paper conceptualizes the shared inbox, help desk, and service desk as nodes within the network. Preliminary analysis is now being conducted on data collected from end users in the post-implementation phase of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The results of this study could provide additional insights into the impact of knowledge acquired from end users in comparison to knowledge sourced from support structures. Organizations could strategically allocate resources among support structures depending on its relevance to their operational context.

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