ADAPTIVE STRUCTURATION THEORY VIEW OF POST
IMPLEMENTATION KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR
ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS
Sedera, Darshana, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia,
d.sedera@qut.edu.au
Zakaria, Nor Hidayati, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia,
nor.zakaria@student.qut.edu.au
3.4 Application of Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST)
Applying the Adaptive Structuration Theory, we argue that the ES-knowledgebase to have a positive
impact on the ES, the ES-knowledgebase must be appropriated in a stable manner. For appropriation
to be stable, there should exist: (1) ‘faithful’ adherence to the ES-knowledgebase, (2) a high level of
consensus on appropriation of the ES-Knowledgebase, and (3) positive attitudes towards the ESknowledgebase.
It is noted that the concept of stability is not necessarily associated with a positive or
negative connotation concerning structure usage1. The measurement of the level of appropriation is
captured through these dimensions; the (1) Attitude towards appropriation, the (2) Faithfulness of
appropriation, (3) Instrumental uses and the (4) consensus (DeSanctis and Poole, 1994).
Attitude captures the user’s feelings and emotions of users as he or she applies and adopts the
structures highlighted in Table 2 for whatever purposes. It does not include the user’s perceptions
about the goodness of the structures. Attitude is considered to be the vehicle that reflects the stability
of the appropriation process (Gopal, Bostrom, & Chin, 1992). The second dimension faithfulness
captures the intentions for the system as perceived by its users. It is important as the authors compare
and align these intentions for the system as perceived by its users against those goals and values as
posited by its developers(Chin, Gopal, & Salisbury, 1997). These goals and values for the system, as
described by its developers are called the spirit. Faithful Appropriations are consistent with the spirit,
whereas unfaithful appropriations are out of line with the spirit of the technology. Unfaithful
appropriations help explain how IS structures do not always bring the outcomes (IS-impacts) that
designers intended (Chin, Gopal, & Salisbury, 1997). Instrumental uses capture the extent of one uses
the system. It is important to understand the different purposes in which the users employ the systems
for in an attempt to identify any deviant or defiant use. The instrumental uses dimension is different
from faithfulness as they are constrained by the features of the system and system features are
underpinned by its values and goals captured in faithfulness. Stakeholders may choose to appropriate
the features for different instrumental uses, or purposes such as tasks or exploratory (DeSanctis and
Poole, 1994). The final dimension is consensus.As mentioned earlier, the ES-knowledgebase will be
employed by multiple user cohorts. It is tautological that these cohorts possess diverse – at times
1 However, the proponents of AST appear to assume implicitly that stable appropriation is more likely to reflect a
positive rather than a negative experience for a group, because the intended effects of the use of the knowledgebase
are positive in nature.
ES-knowledgebase
changes as it interacts
with the
Enterprise System
ESknowledgebase
Enterprise
Systems
Enterprise System
changes as it interacts
with the
ES-knowledgebase
incongruent –requirements. In applying the ES-knowledgebase, the user cohorts will apply the ESknowledgebase
for a diverse range of activities. The consensus of the employees measures the extent
that the ES-knowledgebase accommodates the needs and demands of all employee cohorts. Using the
AST consensus, we expect to measure the extent that the ES-knowledgebase accommodates the
requirements of the multiple stakeholders.
Based on Adaptive Structuration Theory, the relationship between the ES-knowledgebase and ESSuccess
is depicted in Figure 3 as a causal model. We hypothesize that having an adequate ESknowledgebase
in place, while necessary, is not sufficient. In order to gain the maximum positive
effects of the ES-knowledgebase on ES-Success, the ES-knowledgebase must be “appropriated”.
Figure 3. Application of ES-Knowledgebase for Enterprise Systems
It is noted that this research model is a linear representation (reduction) of the complex, dynamic and
iterative structuration process, in which the organizational groups, structures (ES-knowledgebase), and
the system (ES) interact to produce and reproduce social systems that evolve continually. The
potential limitations from operationalizing a complex construct like appropriation as a variable that
mediates a linear relationship between the ES-knowledgebase and ES-Success are acknowledged.
Nonetheless, any attempt at operationalization and quantification necessitates simplification, and it is
believed that this study represents the first attempt to operationalize the AST ‘Appropriation’ construct
in the context of Information Systems2.
4 LITERATURE META ANALYSIS
In order to demonstrate the goodness of our conceptualization above, in depicting the application of
the ES-knowledgebase (and its interaction with the Enterprise System), we next analyze 20 prior
studies. The studies were selected employing a keyword search of “knowledge management” and
“Enterprise Systems” in the popular academic literature databases such as ProQuest, ScienceDirect
and IEEE Xplore. The studies are examined using the following criteria: (1) Knowledge Management
focus, (2) Enterprise Systems lifecycle phases, (3) stakeholder group, (4) theory and (5) empirical
evidence. This meta-analysis is conducted with a collection of those studies based on relationship
2 It is further noted that the continuous interaction of structures, agents and the system, is perhaps better measured through a
cross-sectional survey than through any longitudinal design.
Attitude Faithfulness Instrumental uses
Consensus
ESknowledgebase
Enterprise
Systems
Success
Appropriation
between KM and ES (see Table 3 for details). Using th
