Perceptions of knowledge gatekeepers : social aspects of information exchange in an organisation undergoing change

Abstract

This dissertation integrates theories of social influence, communication, groupthink, and cognitive dissonance to explain the role of a knowledge gatekeeper within an organisation during a period of organisational change. Relatively little research has been conducted on how the elements of social influence, groupthink, cognitive dissonance and communications potentially converge to enable the emergence of power during organisational change events. Of great importance during organisational change is the concept of the knowledge gatekeeper being instrumental in acting as a communication channel between individuals, groups and departments and the influence over what type of information, its quality, currency and pertinence passes through that channel. The change in this instance is the implementation of a new electronic document and records management system and the investigation describes how staff perceived the redistribution of power amongst staff members and the changing perception of the knowledge gatekeeper. Grounded theory methodology, informed by phenomenology and the Technology Acceptance Model form a framework to explore the acceptance of change in the form of a new information system. Literature relating to information systems implementation is examined and related to the organisational change issues of resistance and counter-culture. The discussions are situated in the context of how concepts of communication, groupthink and cognitive dissonance relate to a framework for the acceptance of change and how this framework then relates to the situational analysis of the knowledge gatekeeper's role. Stakeholder perceptions of an information system and the subsequent change within the organisation enabled the construction of a more complex model which incorporates the relevance of social influences for change acceptance. This dissertation proposes the Social Influence and Change Acceptance Model (SICAM) as a means of conceptualising how a knowledge gatekeeper influences colleagues' perceptions of events during organisational change. Insight into the dimensions of power, the use of workthink as a resistance strategy, and the effect of miscommunication during system requirements elicitation are offered for consideration. The main research findings can facilitate understanding of the issues that surround organisational change and knowledge gatekeepers, in particular the impact of information systems implementations on broader organisational changes. When seeking to understand how stakeholders react to social situations affecting change, SICAM can be transferred to broader situations, not just located within the information systems research arena.

Date of Award	2009
Original language	English