Assessing Knowledge Management System User Acceptance with the Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study investigating the applicability of Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to user acceptance of a knowledge management system (KMS) in a modern organizational environment. The study endeavors to expand empirical research of two important and complex research questions: (1) What are the important factors, conditions, and mechanisms that affect people’s acceptance and usage of collaborative and interdependent KMS in the modern organizational environment?, and (2) How applicable is the TAM, and the substantial body of information technology (IT) research around this model, to user acceptance and usage of a KMS in a modern organizational environment where collaboration, knowledge sharing, and role based system usage is necessary for the organization to function competitively? The study provides preliminary evidence suggesting previous TAM research may serve as a foundation for research of KMS user acceptance. Relationships among primary TAM constructs found in this study are in substantive agreement with those of previous research. These findings are significant because they suggest that the considerable body of previous TAM related IT research may be usefully applied to the knowledge management (KM) domain where interdependent social processes that require knowledge creation, storage and retrieval, transfer, and application are required for effective organizational functioning.