Student Acceptance of Knowledge Management Systems: Evidence from a Canadian Business School

Abstract

This study investigates the factors affecting the perceived usefulness of and the intention to use knowledge management (KM) systems by students. The research model posits that the intention to use KM systems in higher education depends on perceived usefulness, perceived user-friendliness, organizational rewards, and community of practice. A survey method was used to collect the data for the study. We used a convenience sample consisting of undergraduate students enrolled in various business courses in a Canadian University. The data obtained from a sample of 120 students were initially factor analyzed to identify the relevant factors. Separate factor analysis was conducted for each of three types of measures – the independent measures, the intermediate measures, and the dependent measure. In order to test the proposed hypotheses, we employed the method of multiple regression analysis. The findings suggest that organizational rewards and KM system characteristics positively impact perceived usefulness, and that user-friendliness, usefulness, organizational rewards, and community of practice are significant predictors of intention to use KM system. This analysis reveals that business schools need to focus on usefulness and practical relevance of knowledge captured in knowledge management systems. This is in line with the current debate in management education regarding the appropriateness of methods employed to teach business knowledge. Organizational rewards being a significant predictor of intention to use KM systems corroborate the expectancy theory. Therefore, it is important for business schools to communicate on the usefulness of their KM systems but also to encourage its usage through different incentives.