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Factors Impeding Wiki Use in the Enterprise: A Case Study
December 2009
Lester J. Holtzblatt, The MITRE Corporation
Laurie E. Damianos, The MITRE Corporation
Daniel Weiss, The MITRE Corporation
ABSTRACT
Our research explored factors that impacted the use of wikis as a tool to support the dissemination of knowledge within an enterprise. Although we primarily talked to a population of wiki contributors and readers, we discovered two major factors which contributed to staff's unwillingness to share information on a wiki under certain circumstances. First, we uncovered a reluctance to share specific information due to a perceived extra cost, the nature of the information, the desire to share only "finished" content, and sensitivities to the openness of the sharing environment. Second, we discovered a heavy reliance on other, non-wiki tools based on a variety of factors including work practice, lack of guidelines, and cultural sensitivities. Our findings have several implications for how an enterprise may more fully reap the benefits of wiki technology. These include implementation of incentive structures, support for dynamic access control, documenting clear guidelines and policies, and making wikis more usable.
Additional Search Keywords
Wiki, social software, social computing, collaborative editing, web 2.0, social media, collaboration, collaborative environments
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