Large Government Organizations Research Articles

Category Management Methods as a Basis for organizing a Balanced Procurement Model

The validity and rational organization of procurement activities is one of the most significant factors of successful development, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of economic activity as an individual business entity and large economic systems. In modern conditions, a large and quite successful work has been carried out in the field of state regulation of procurement by organizations of various organizational and legal forms and specialization. However, each organization, justifying the trajectory of its development and developing a strategy for medium- and long-term periods, should form its own mechanism for regulating procurement, taking into account the organizational and technological features of its production and the possibilities of the economy. The purpose of this study, based on the methods of analysis (including system-legal), expert’s assessments, comparisons — was to develop — as this article describes it — the methodology of the categorical approach to the organization of procurement activities, focused on large government organizations. At the same time, the results of the research show that the proposed categorical approach and methods based on it are quite adaptive and can be used by economic entities of any specialization and organizational forms.Based on the results of the study, recommendations are given on the practical application of the proposed methodology and an assessment of the effectiveness of its application when choosing a supplier (contractor, contractor), logistics of the movement of orders received and their effective distribution between the divisions of an economic entity, which really contributes to the growth of procurement performance indicators. The proposed methodology for monitoring the effectiveness of procurement activities covers the full cycle as a whole: from the general assessment of the customer’s needs, the allocation of the main categories of purchased goods (works, services), procurement categories and, in general, the actual development of a categorical procurement strategy, monitoring its implementation and evaluating the effectiveness of the use of a categorical strategy. The article presents specific results on the use of this method on the example of one of the largest state customers.

If managers feel safe, budget control becomes enabling. Evidence from a large local government organization in Sweden

Purpose The authors study how enabling perceptions (flexibility, reparability and internal and global transparency) of a budgetary control system are formed, and whether enabling perceptions empower lower-level managers and make them form less negative attitudes about red tape in the organization. This study research is warranted because of the lack of knowledge on how perceptual variation in flexibility, repairability and transparency of a control system within an organization, where managers experiencing the same control system design, can be explained.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data with answers from 211 managers from a large local government organization in Sweden is analyzed with structural equation modeling.FindingsThe extent to which the budget system is perceived as having enabling qualities (being flexible, reparable and transparent) is explained by the safeness of the individual manager's psychological climate. This climate is characterized by trust and fairness perceptions in upper management. In turn, enabling perceptions positively affect a sense of psychological empowerment and reduces attitudes toward red tape in the organization.Originality/valueThe authors contribute by identifying an important factor explaining individual-level variability in enabling perceptions of control systems within organizations. Compared to previous research that has taken an interest in the organizational-level climate, the authors theorize about and investigate (parts of) the individual-level psychological climate as an explanation of within-system variability.

Reducing sickness absence and stigma due to mental health difficulties: a randomised control treatment trial (RCT) of a low intensity psychological intervention and stigma reduction programme for common mental disorder (Prevail)

BackgroundCommon mental disorders are the leading cause of workplace absences. The Prevail intervention programme aims to reduce stigma and to educate staff and managers about evidence-based low intensity psychological interventions for common mental disorders (depression, anxiety, stress, and distress). Prevail is innovative in taking a public health approach. It is designed to be given to all employees irrespective of their past or current mental health. Prevail was evaluated in three studies examining: (1) the acceptability of the intervention and perceived usefulness; (2) whether the intervention altered stigmatic attitudes and motivation to seek help; and (3) whether the intervention reduced sickness absence, both overall and due to mental health problems.MethodsA two-armed cluster randomised control trial (RCT) evaluated the effectiveness of Prevail. Employees (N = 1051) at a large UK government institution were randomised to an active intervention or control arm in teams identified by their managers (n = 67). Employees in the active arm received the Prevail Staff Intervention. The managers in the active arm also received the Prevail Managers Intervention. Participants’ satisfaction and analysis of the Prevail Intervention were gathered by a bespoke questionnaire. Questionnaire measures of attitudes to mental health and mental health stigma were taken 1–2 weeks prior to the intervention and approximately 4 weeks post-intervention. Data relating to sickness absence were gathered via the official records in the time period 3-month post-intervention and for the same period 12 months earlier.ResultsPrevail was evaluated highly favourably by both the staff and their managers. Prevail produced significant reductions in self-stigma and anticipated stigma due to mental health difficulties. Crucially, sickness absence was significantly reduced by the Prevail Intervention.DiscussionPrevail achieved its goals of producing a palatable and engaging intervention that altered staff’s attitudes and stigmatic beliefs related to mental health and, crucially, produced a strong reduction in work-pace absenteeism. As the Prevail programme is aimed at common mental health problems and was not specialised to this particular workforce, the study provides the evidence-base for a mental health intervention programme that could be used by many organisations across the world.Trial RegistrationISRCTN12040087. Registered 04/05/2020. https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN12040087. A full protocol for the randomised control trial was published: Gray NS, Davies H, Snowden RJ: Reducing stigma and increasing workplace productivity due to mental health difficulties in a large government organization in the UK: a protocol for a randomised control treatment trial (RCT) of a low intensity psychological intervention and stigma reduction programme for common mental disorder (Prevail). BMC Public Health 2020, 20(1):1–9.

The New Final Frontier: A Case Study Analysis of Private Sector’s Increasing Role in the Space Industry

Historically, any endeavors, involving the term ‘space’, were perceived as operations undertaken by large government organizations with an emphasis on the scientific aspect, rather than a business one. However, over the last two decades, the structure of the space industry is rapidly being transformed and privatized due to the growth in commercial applications and the catalyzing entry of billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. This paper offers a case study analysis of the private sector’s growing influence in the space industry through a combination of a quantitative analysis and an in-depth review of the surrounding literature. The results show that the commercial economy now accounts for almost 80% of the monetary size of the space industry and is expected to drive most of the growth in future. Further, a forecast of the future size of the space economy suggests it could touch almost US$1.5 trillion by 2040, dominated by the private sector. A regression analysis conducted to assess the quantum of private sector investment that will be required if the industry is to achieve its forecasted potential in the upcoming decades revealed that private investments must go up to US$48billion by 2025.

Collaboration in Social Work Field Education: A Reflective Discussion on a Multiuniversity and Industry Collaboration

ABSTRACT Australia has seen an increase in social work student enrolments, resulting in increasing competition among universities in finding appropriate placements, all within a neo-liberal context affecting capacity of organisations to support student placements. To address this, a student placement program was developed by the Queensland Field Educators Network and a large government organisation, facilitated by three Queensland universities. This article provides a reflective discussion on the learnings from this initiative, focusing on the importance of collaboration to enable better access to placement opportunities and quality of learning opportunities for students. IMPLICATIONS Collaboration between university field education programs can contribute to increasing placement opportunities for all students. Developing university–industry sector relationships can contribute to more consistent learning opportunities for students. Collaboration rather than competition among universities for placements is consistent with social work values, resisting dominant neo-liberal managerialist philosophies. Meaningful collaboration between the university and the social work field will involve investment, respect, and identifying mutually beneficial outcomes.

Explainable anomaly detection for procurement fraud identification—lessons from practical deployments

AbstractThis article reports the results of our work to construct a system for the detection of fraudulent behavior in procurement transactions. To solve the problem, we model different types of fraud via separate statistical indicators. We propose a formalized framework to describe the severity of fraud in a unified way regardless of underlying fraud mechanics. Subsequently, we leverage this concept to build indicator ensembles that collect evidence from multiple indicators and deliver an interpretable per transaction score to the procurement audit officer. As a case study, we overview 48 such fraud indicators constructed for our client and describe two examples in detail showing how our formal definitions can be transformed into a practical implementation. The presented results include experiments with all indicators on data covering four years of procurement activity with approximately 216,000 transactions coming from a large government organization in Singapore. The final evaluation of our system shows 67.1% precision in detecting suspicious transactions. The article describes how outcome of our work helped to effectively cope with the problem of anomaly detection explainability and the lessons learned from integrating this solution to operational practices of a procurement department.

Reducing stigma and increasing workplace productivity due to mental health difficulties in a large government organization in the UK: a protocol for a randomised control treatment trial (RCT) of a low intensity psychological intervention and stigma reduction programme for common mental disorder (Prevail)

BackgroundCommon mental disorders are the leading cause of workplace absences. While the reasons for this are multifarious, there is little doubt that stigma related to common mental disorder plays a large role in sickness absence and in poor help-seeking. Frequently both managers and staff are unsure of how to approach and intervene with mental health related problems. We have therefore devised a mental health intervention programme (Prevail) that aims to reduce stigma and to educate staff about evidence-based low intensity psychological interventions. These can be used by the individual, as well as in collaboration with managers via co-production of problem-focussed solutions, with the aim of improving mental health, reducing sickness absence, and increasing workplace productivity.MethodsThis two-armed cluster randomised control trial (RCT) will evaluate the effectiveness of Prevail. Eighty managers at a large UK government institution (the DVLA) and their teams (approximately 960 employees) will be randomised into the active intervention group or control (employment as usual) arms of the study. All participants will be invited to complete a series of questionnaires related to mental health stigma, their current and past mental health, and their recent workplace productivity (absenteeism and presenteeism). All employees in the active arm will receive the Prevail Staff intervention, which covers stigma reduction and includes psychoeducation about evidence-based low intensity psychological interventions for common mental disorder. The managers in the active arm will also receive the Prevail Managers programme which covers communication skills, problem formulation, and problem-solving skills. The questionnaire battery will then be given to both groups again 4 weeks post training, and 12 months post-training. Official records of absenteeism from Human Resources will also be gathered from both active and control groups at 12 months post-training.DiscussionThe treatment trial aims to evaluate if Prevail reduces mental health related stigma (of a number of forms), increases help-seeking behaviours, and increases workplace productivity (via decreased absenteeism and presenteeism).Trial registrationISRCTN12040087. Retrospectively registered 04/05/2020.

Association of diabetes-related kidney disease with cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular outcomes: a retrospective cohort study

BackgroundDiabetes-related kidney disease is associated with end-stage renal disease and mortality, but opportunities remain to quantify its association with cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular morbidity outcomes.MethodsWe used the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database, 2010–2014, which includes specific health services records for employees and their dependents from a selection of large employers, health plans, and government and public organizations. We used administrative claims data to quantify the association between diabetes-related kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, stroke, and infections. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios of developing complications.ResultsAmong 2.2 million patients with diabetes, 7.1% had diabetes-related kidney disease: 13.5%, stage 1–2; 33.8%, stage 3; 13.2% stages 4–5; 39.5%, unknown stage. In multivariable Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for demographic characteristics, baseline comorbid conditions, and total hospital days during the baseline period, hazard ratios for each outcome increased with greater diabetes-related kidney disease severity (stage 1–2 vs. stage 4–5) compared with no diabetes-related kidney disease: myocardial infarction, 1.2 (95% confidence interval 1.1–1.4) and 3.1 (2.9–3.4); congestive heart failure, 1.7 (1.6–1.9) and 5.6 (5.3–5.8); stroke, 1.3 (1.2–1.5) and 2.3 (2.1–2.5); infection, 1.4 (1.3–1.5) and 2.9 (2.8–3.0). Among patients with stage 4–5 disease, 36-month cumulative incidence was nearly 22.8% for congestive heart failure, and 25.8% for infections.ConclusionsDiabetes-related kidney disease appears to be formally diagnosed at a more advanced stage than might be expected, given clinical practice guidelines. Risks of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular outcomes are high.

How can Complex Organizations Engage in a Successful Restructuring while Simultaneously Improving the Delivery of Products and Capabilities?

A large complex government organization is planning a restructure of their organization from a hybrid matrix or competency-aligned team structure to a more dominant mission-aligned structure. This restructure has the potential to spur organizational problems from employee churn, including a decrease in employee engagement as well as detract from product delivery. The purpose of this study is to systematically gather and review evidence on employee engagement and retention during organizational restructuring initiatives. Another purpose is to define how leadership style can impact the organization’s ability to successfully restructure while also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the ongoing products. An analysis was carried out using four rapid evidence assessments and then a combined systematic review to analyze existing scholarly literature on the research question. The organizational problem was viewed through the lens of the contingency theory, which focuses on the structure best suited to the organization, contingent on its internal and external environments. With a complex reorganization, an organization can align with their internal mission, as well as their customers in the external environment. A thematic analysis of the literature revealed several themes; job resources, leadership styles, team innovation, training, external and internal environmental factors, employee engagement, open communication, and organizational diagnosis. This study supports the notion that a successful reorganization can be implemented through the support of an effective leadership style, training, and the implementation of job resources.

Stress buffering effects of leader vision

Leader vision has been related to a range of favorable outcomes for employees including better job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and lower levels of stress. While direct effects of more distal (organizational level) leader vision have been established, research has yet to explore the effects of different hierarchical levels of leader vision and their potential stress buffering effects on proximal or distal indicators of employee adjustment. Drawing primarily on Conservation of Resources theory and the Job Demand Resources Model, it was predicted that main and stress buffering effects would be significant when the proximal or distal nature of the leader vision (i.e., work unit, departmental, or organizational leader vision) was congruent with proximal or distal employee adjustment outcome types. Two way moderated regression analyses were performed on data collected from a large government organization. The analyses found support for the main effects hypotheses of leader vision on employee adjustment. While stress mitigating effects were observed when there was congruence in terms of the distal leader vision and the distal adjustment outcome types, other significant interactions failed to support hypotheses. Moreover, moderating effects were largely confined to distal leader vision. Theoretical and practical implications are subsequently presented.

Explaining attribution in information technology projects

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between project failure and success and an individual’s attributional style and level of seniority. Information technology (IT)-related projects are often complex because of the need to work with a range of stakeholders and satisfy diverse expectations, and thus projects often fail. Design/methodology/approach A case study of a large government organisation was undertaken: interviews and focus groups were conducted and used as primary data for qualitative analysis. Findings Line and executive managers have the tendency to increasingly make more pessimistic attributions than support workers, believing that failure was likely to persist in the future because of the inability to influence management and stakeholders. Support workers have the tendency to be more optimistic than line and executive managers and this has implications for self-serving evaluation practices. Originality/value The application of the attribution theory provides insights into project success and failure and the discrepancies between line managers’ and employees’ job satisfaction.

When the customer is unethical: the explanatory role of employee emotional exhaustion onto work-family conflict, relationship conflict with coworkers, and job neglect.

We integrate deontological ethics (Folger, 1998, 2001; Kant, 1785/1948, 1797/1991) with conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) to propose that an employee's repeated exposure to violations of moral principle can diminish the availability of resources to appropriately attend to other personal and work domains. In particular, we identify customer unethical behavior as a morally charged work demand that leads to a depletion of resources as captured by employee emotional exhaustion. In turn, emotionally exhausted employees experience higher levels of work-family conflict, relationship conflict with coworkers, and job neglect. Employee emotional exhaustion serves as the mediator between customer unethical behavior and such outcomes. To provide further evidence of a deontological effect, we demonstrate the unique effect of customer unethical behavior onto emotional exhaustion beyond perceptions of personal mistreatment and trait negative affectivity. In Study 1, we found support for our theoretical model using multisource field data from customer-service professionals across a variety of industries. In Study 2, we also found support for our theoretical model using multisource, longitudinal field data from service employees in a large government organization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

MARKET TESTING AND CONTRACTING-OUT OF GOVERNMENT CORPORATE SERVICE

The objective of this study is to identify specific issues considered to be major implementation obstacles by managers faced with the policy decision to shift services to the private sector. The shifting (contracting-out) of corporate services in a large government organisation is used as a case study to identify issues impacting on management decision-making in the contracting-out process. Matters such as the organisational approach to determination of service costs and changes to the stock of organisational knowledge are considered. Important findings include that an unusual and possibly unique integrated model for contracting-out was used; and, that managers adopted an avoidable-cost approach in contracting-out decisions.Keywords: Contracting-out; Government; Integrated model

NFC 기반의 스마트워크 서비스 모델 설계

Since Korean government announced `Smartwork promotion strategy` in 2010, Korean firms and government organizations have started to adopt smartwork. However, the smartwork has been implemented only in a few of large enterprises and government organizations rather than SMEs (small and medium enterprises). In USA, both Yahoo! and Best Buy have stopped their flexible work because of its reported low productivity and job loafing problems. In addition, according to the literature on smartwork, we could draw obstacles of smartwork adoption and categorize them into the three types: institutional, organizational, and technological. The first category of smartwork adoption obstacles, institutional, include the difficulties of smartwork performance evaluation metrics, the lack of readiness of organizational processes, limitation of smartwork types and models, lack of employee participation in smartwork adoption procedure, high cost of building smartwork system, and insufficiency of government support. The second category, organizational, includes limitation of the organization hierarchy, wrong perception of employees and employers, a difficulty in close collaboration, low productivity with remote coworkers, insufficient understanding on remote working, and lack of training about smartwork. The third category, technological, obstacles include security concern of mobile work, lack of specialized solution, and lack of adoption and operation know-how. To overcome the current problems of smartwork in reality and the reported obstacles in literature, we suggest a novel smartwork service model based on NFC(Near Field Communication). This paper suggests NFC-based Smartwork Service Model composed of NFC-based Smartworker networking service and NFC-based Smartwork space management service. NFC-based smartworker networking service is comprised of NFC-based communication/SNS service and NFC-based recruiting/job seeking service. NFC-based communication/SNS Service Model supplements the key shortcomings that existing smartwork service model has. By connecting to existing legacy system of a company through NFC tags and systems, the low productivity and the difficulty of collaboration and attendance management can be overcome since managers can get work processing information, work time information and work space information of employees and employees can do real-time communication with coworkers and get location information of coworkers. Shortly, this service model has features such as affordable system cost, provision of location-based information, and possibility of knowledge accumulation. NFC-based recruiting/job-seeking service provides new value by linking NFC tag service and sharing economy sites. This service model has features such as easiness of service attachment and removal, efficient space-based work provision, easy search of location-based recruiting/job-seeking information, and system flexibility. This service model combines advantages of sharing economy sites with the advantages of NFC. By cooperation with sharing economy sites, the model can provide recruiters with human resource who finds not only long-term works but also short-term works. Additionally, SMEs (Small Medium-sized Enterprises) can easily find job seeker by attaching NFC tags to any spaces at which human resource with qualification may be located. In short, this service model helps efficient human resource distribution by providing location of job hunters and job applicants. NFC-based smartwork space management service can promote smartwork by linking NFC tags attached to the work space and existing smartwork system. This service has features such as low cost, provision of indoor and outdoor location information, and customized service. In particular, this model can help small company adopt smartwork system because it is light-weight system and cost-effective compared to existing smartwork system. This paper proposes the scenarios of the service models, the roles and incentives of the participants, and the comparative analysis. The superiority of NFC-based smartwork service model is shown by comparing and analyzing the new service models and the existing service models. The service model can expand scope of enterprises and organizations that adopt smartwork and expand the scope of employees that take advantages of smartwork.

An exploratory study of business excellence implementation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) public sector

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the implementation issues of the Business Excellence Model and the process of self‐assessment, from both management and employee perspectives, in a large government organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the large Government organisation is indicative of the type of large indigenous organisation in the region. The organisation is part of the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).Design/methodology/approachA multi‐level case study approach is used, involving repeated in‐depth interviews with managers (n=12) and a questionnaire with employees (n=96) to explore the implementation issues at all levels.FindingsThere was considerable variation in the implementation effectiveness across the different levels within the organisation. The top down approach had a resonance with the Middle East culture at management levels. However, insufficient participation and empowerment of lower level employees, especially amongst non‐indigenous employees, led to a lack of closure on corrective actions emerging from the self‐assessment process. Overall there was an acceptance of the business improvement side of total quality management (TQM) but there was a need for increased cultural acceptance of the people development aspects.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of multi‐level in‐depth studies relating to Business Excellence and self‐assessment in Middle Eastern organisations where a critical cultural perspective is adopted, even though there has been considerable resources expended by Government in initiatives such as the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).

Quality Quandaries*: An Efficient Public Sector

This article describes a case study of an improvement project at UWV, a large dutch Government organization, along the common define–measure–analyze–improve–control (DMAIC) structure used in Lean Six Sigma projects.

Information Technology Governance in Practice

This paper compares implementation frameworks for Information Technology (IT) governance and functions of a Project Management Office (PMO). While there are commonalities, the relational mechanisms called for in IT governance frameworks are omitted from the PMO functions. The authors provide a case study of a PMO at a large municipal government organization where relational mechanisms are incorporated into the risk assessment process through the use of a risk profile spider chart. Drawing conclusions from collaborative practice research, the authors discuss the use and relational aspects of the risk profile spider chart and show how this tool enables boundary spanning between the PMO and other departments by functioning as a boundary object-in-use, increasing the likelihood of buy-in for IT governance decisions. The authors conclude that the tool has potential both as a risk assessment mechanism and a boundary object for building collaboration and thus may be useful for PMOs at other organizations.

Offline: Is CDC a science-based organisation?

When we published our first report describing discontent about the work of the Center for Global Health (CGH) at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC immediately contacted us to ask for an opportunity to reply. We agreed and await their response. Meanwhile, two further letters have arrived. They again signal severe concerns about the way in which CDC organises its global health work. Both correspondents are well informed about the details of the CDC's work in global health. Their allegations are serious. They raise questions about leadership, management of resources, proper use of the CDC's authority and power, and the scientific rigour of CDC research. They also claim that CDC's CGH encourages a culture that censors and punishes dissent. Here is some more of what they have to say. “CDC is no longer a science-based organization…Skills, training, and experience are secondary when making important decisions.” “Public health activities in various countries are contracted out to…partners who do a less than desirable job, delivering poor quality products and services thanks to minimal guidance and appropriate oversight from the CGH headquarters in Atlanta.” “There is duplication of efforts, not to mention huge amounts of tension and confusion at the organizational and interagency levels…there is no coordination between the two important US Government agencies responsible for global health work. In fact, it is a well-known fact in the global health field that CDC and USAID have been long-time archrivals and this rivalry causes a lot of tension affecting global health work negatively. Most people heard or witnessed, in countries where both organizations have country offices, that things cannot get done…If these two large and powerful US Government organizations cannot get along enough so that they get the job done, how can CDC's CGH expect to coordinate global health efforts with the other agencies and organizations worldwide?” “I, and obviously several other colleagues, believe that the time has come to keep our scientists and the management of CDC-CGH honest.” “There is no strategic direction…at the CGH other than spending monies at lightning speed. An objective evaluation of this center and its activities is long overdue. In fact, an in-depth congressional investigation might be in order.” “Monies are wasted on extensive overseas travel and long temporary duty assignments…We never hear what these people accomplish during their long overseas assignments.” “Most employees see the monetary waste…but they cannot talk for fear of losing their jobs. Staff morale is quite low at CGH as a result of poor handling of global projects, inappropriate utilization of the workforce and funds.” Something is clearly wrong in Atlanta.

Transforming staff practice through active support

Background Active support is being introduced in many residential and respite homes in an effort to improve engagement in meaningful activity of people with intellectual disability.Method A train-the-trainer approach was used in a large government organisation that supports people with intellectual disability in Australia. Five apprentice trainers were trained to provide active support training to 65 staff associated with 6 group homes. These 5 trainers were then monitored to provide training to 54 staff in another 6 group homes. Staff evaluated their interactive training experiences, and pre and post outcome data were collected for a small number of service users from the second set of group homes, along with staff outcome data regarding residential working practices, group home management, and staffing practices.Results The train-the-trainer model proved to be an effective strategy for training large numbers of staff. The interactive training component was particularly effective and was associated with improvements in service user engagement in domestic tasks and decreased depression levels. Staff job satisfaction increased and significant improvements were recorded in residential working practices.Conclusions Active support training is an effective strategy for empowering staff to better support people with an intellectual disability to be meaningfully engaged in daily activities. There are implications for organisations related to ongoing implementation and practice improvement.

“KMS-Fit”: A case-based exploration of task/technology fit in an applied knowledge management context

The notion of Task/Technology Fit (TTF) posits that as the degree of overlap increases between the task domain, and the ways in which the capabilities of an information system (IS) are suited to activities within that domain, performance gains experienced via use of the IS should also increase. This research proposes an expanded TTF model that is applicable to the context of Knowledge Management (KM) and Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). In particular, additional individual, technological, and social factors and interrelationships between these factors could provide greater explanatory power of IS user behaviors, perceptions, and outcomes within the realm of knowledge work. A mixed-method field study approach was employed at a large government organization, currently in the process of developing and fielding a new KMS to support knowledge-intensive work, to investigate the underlying factors and relationships described within an expanded “KMS Fit” model. Results suggest that the foundational mechanisms described by the TTF model may in fact change within KM contexts. In particular, the inherently social characteristics of knowledge-based work were found to play a very important role in determining the degree of fit relative to a KMS. Moreover, the social ecology within the organization was found to have significant impact on KMS Fit. Results of this research further reinforce the notion that KMS may be a unique subset of IS and that traditional IS models (such as TTF) should be updated or tailored to reflect the social nature of knowledge-based work and knowledge management.