social media, knowledge management adoption and information and

291 Pages·2015·3.31 MB·English

by  Danielle Medjo

________________________________________________________________

SOCIAL MEDIA, KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ADOPTION AND
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECT
SUCCESS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT
________________________________________________________________

By

DANIELLE MEDJO
SUPERVISOR: PROF CHRIS WILLIAM CALLAGHAN

A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in Fulfilment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce

JOHANNESBURG
SOUTH AFRICA
27 AUGUST 2015
i
ABSTRACT

Many ICT projects continue to fail despite the use of established projects methods and
techniques as the proper communication systems required for successful project outcomes
have been lacking. It is generally believed that the adoption and diffusion of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) makes a contribution to a nation‟s economic and
sustainable development. The explosion of social media is changing the way we
communicate and therefore the processes involving project management information systems.
Research shows that as technology usage lags, so does per capita income, skills development
and productivity. Despite much global literature that relates to the failure of ICT projects,
what is absent from the literature is knowledge of the relative contribution of different factors
to ICT project success in the South African context. This study sought to address this
absence. From a review of the literature on social media tools and knowledge sharing and
reuse, four propositions relating the use of social media and adoption of certain knowledge
management practices to the success of ICT projects were generated about the likely impact
of these variables on ICT project performance. The research study was conducted over
twenty-month effort. Both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained. The qualitative
study based on a grounded theory analysis of ICT professionals, derived propositions that
were tested empirically. Bivariate correlation analysis, multiple linear regressions and
multiple hierarchical regression analyses were applied. Results indicated that knowledge
management adoption mediates the relationship between social media usage and ICT project
cost performance. Additionally project type was found to play a moderating role in the
relationship between knowledge management and project performance. Implications for
practice and theory are discussed.

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CONTENT OVERVIEW
An overview of the content is provided in order to walk the reader through the dissertation.
Chapter 1, titled “Introduction”, introduces the reader to the research topic, the background
of the study and the rationale for the study. The research problem, objectives, questions and
hypotheses are specified. A theoretical model for the study is provided. Relationships
between the research topic, the literature review and the research questions and hypotheses
are made explicit. A model of the research process is provided. The chapter concludes with
an outline of the chapter sequence in the form of a breakdown of the content of the chapters
of the dissertation.

Chapter 2 titled “Literature Review”, identifies and evaluates the other research findings in
the literature that relate to this study. The literature review also indicates where the study fits

into the existing body of literature as well as the gap in previous studies. The literature
review follows precedent in the field of social media, communication and knowedge
managment research .

Chapter 3, titled “ Research Methodology”, examines the steps taken to make sure that the
research method chosen adheres to a scientific approach. This chapter outlines a rationale for
the research design and method, sampling method, data collection method, the population of
the study and the placement of the research within a research paradigm. Validity and
reliability measures are addressed. The qualitative and quantitative research designs, ethical
considerations and limitation of the study are discussed. Issues relating to data collection and
data analysis are reflected. The specific statistical tests applied to test each of the hypotheses
are explained, and the use of specific scale items is made explicit and justified in terms of
previous research precedent.

Chapter 4, titled „Qualitative Findings‟, reports the findings that relate to the inductive
grounded research process. Propositions derived from this analysis form the basis for the
development of quantitative hypotheses.

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Chapter 5, titled „Quantitative Findings‟, reports the results of the quantitative testing
process. The results of the univariate, bivariate and multivariate testing processes are
reported. Tables are provided that report the outcome of the testing of the hypotheses.
Chapter 6, titled „Discussion of the Findings‟, provides a discussion of the results of the study
that relates to (i) the relationships between social media usage, and ICT project performance;
(ii) the relationships between knowledge management adoption and project performance; and
(iii) the interaction effects of KM and project type on different variable combinations.
Chapter 7, titled “Conclusions and Recommendations”, this chapter provides a summary and
discussion of the research findings, the research questions and hypothesis are revisited and
answered. Recommendations are made based on the research findings. All research questions
are answered in summary, and conclusions are derived. Recommendations for further
research conclude this chapter.

iv
DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is my own work. It is being submitted in fulfilment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of commerce in the University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any degree of examination
in any other university.

_____________________________
DANIELLE MEDJO ME ZE

Signed on this the _______________ day of _____________________, 2015

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation is dedicated to the following people:
- The Lord Jesus Christ- the source of all knowledge and motivation- without whom
this wouldn‟t be possible
- My mom, for her love
- My family for their strong support
- All my respondents who provided a valuable input to this study
- My supervisor, Prof Chris William Callaghan: I am so grateful for his patience,
commitment and advises towards me.

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CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... ii
CONTENT OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................... ii
DECLARATION .................................................................................................................. v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................. vi
CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xiv
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xviii
LIST OF ACRONYMS .................................................................................................... xviii
ALPHA INDEX TABLE ................................................................................................... xix
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 1
1.INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 2
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ......................................................................... 2
1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................... 5
2.THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES, THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THE
DERIVED HYPOTHESES……………………………………………………………………6
2.1 THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE ............................................................................ 6
2.2 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................... 6
2.3 THE DERIVED PROVISIONAL HYPOTHESES ................................................. 7
3.CHAPTER PLAN ....................................................................................................... 9
4.CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 2.LITTERATURE REVIEW .................................................................... 11
2.LITTERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................ 12
2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 12
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2.2 FRAMEWORK OF SOCIAL MEDIA ................................................................. 12
2.2.1 OVERVIEW AND DEFINITION ................................................................... 12
2.2.2 TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS ....................................................................... 13
2.3 COMMUNICATION IN PROJECT SETTNG ....................................................... 16
2.3.1 THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION: MEDIA RICHNESS THEORY.......... 17
2.3.2 SOCIAL PRESENCE THEORY ..................................................................... 18
2.3.3 SOFT VERSUS HARD COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES.................. 19
2.3.4 TRUST ........................................................................................................... 20
2.4 PAST STUDIES OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND PROJECT SUCCESS ........ 20
2.5 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE ...................................................... 21
2.5.1 KNOWLEDGE ............................................................................................... 21
2.5.2 THEORY IN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ............................................ 25
2.5.3 LEARNING ORGANISATION VERSUS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 27
2.5.4 KM PROCESSES: SHARING AND REUSE ................................................. 28
2.5.5 INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE ............................................................ 29
2.6 ROLE OF IT IN KM PRACTICE .......................................................................... 30
2.6.1 COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IN KM ............................... 30
2.7 PAST STUDIES OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KM AND PROJECT
SUCCESS .................................................................................................................... 31
2.8 INTERRACTION EFFECT OF KM IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
SOCIAL MEDIA AND PROJECT SUCCESS ............................................................. 32
2.9 THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR..... 32
2.9.1 THE ICT SECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA ....................................................... 33
2.9.2 SUSTAINABILITY ........................................................................................ 34
2.10 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES ......................................................... 35
2.10.1 DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE ............................................................... 35
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2.10.2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES .............................................. 36
2.11 WHAT IS AN ICT PROJECT? ............................................................................ 37
2.12 FRAMEWORK OF PROJECT SUCCESS ........................................................... 39
2.12.1 A SUGGESTED DEFINITION .................................................................... 39
2.12.2 THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE: BUDGET, TIME AND FUNCTIONALITY ... 40
2.12.3 OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING PROJECT SUCCESS ......................... 40
2.13 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 41
CHAPTER 3.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................... 42
3.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................................................... 43
3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 43
3.2 MIXED METHODS APPROACH: QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
METHODS ......................................................................................................................... 43
3.3 PLACEMENT OF THE RESEARCH: PARADIGMS .......................................... 44
3.4 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................... 45
3.5 GROUNDED THEORY....................................................................................... 45
3.5.1 TRUSTWORTHINESS .................................................................................. 46
3.6 QUALITATIVE PROCESS ................................................................................. 47
3.6.1 CODING AND ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 47
3.6.2 THE SAMPLING PROCESS.......................................................................... 47
3.7 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 47
3.7.1 RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................... 48
3.7.2 POPULATION AND SAMPLE ...................................................................... 48
3.7.3 SAMPLING AND SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATION ..................................... 48
3.7.4 CONFIDENCE LEVEL .................................................................................. 49
3.7.5 INSTRUMENTATION ............................................................................................ 49
3.8 DATA COLLECTION ......................................................................................... 50
3.9 MEASURES OF TESTED VARIABLES ............................................................. 50
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3.9.1 RELIABILITY ................................................................................................ 51
3.9.2 RESPONSE BIAS AND VALIDITY .............................................................. 52
3.10 DATA ANALYSIS: STATISTICAL TESTING ................................................. 52
3.10.1 CORRELATION ANALYSIS .................................................................................. 53
3.10.2 REGRESSION ANALYSIS .......................................................................... 53
3.10.3 MEDIATION ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 53
3.10.4 MODERATED REGRESSION ANALYSIS................................................. 53
3.11 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS .......................................................................... 54
3.12 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH ........................................................................ 54
3.13 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 55
CHAPTER 4.QUALITATIVE FINDINGS .................................................................. 56
4.GROUNDED RESEARCH: QUALITATIVE FINIDNGS ........................................ 57
4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 57
4.2 PROPOSITION A: SOCIAL MEDIA .................................................................. 57
4.2.1 COMMUNICATION TOOLS VERSUS COLLABORATION TOOLS .......... 57
4.2.2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BETWEEN TRADITIONAL TOOLS BEYOND
NON COMPUTER COMMUNICATION TOOLS AND CMC ........................................... 60
4.3 PROPOSITION B: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS ...................... 61
4.4 PROPOSITION C: PERFORMANCE FACTORS-INDIVIDUAL LEVEL OF
ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................ 61
4.4.1 PROPOSITION C1: EXPERIENCE IS RELATED TO DIFFERENCES IN
PROJECT PERFORMANCE .............................................................................................. 62
4.4.2 PROPOSITION C2: INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE IS RELATED TO
DIFFERENCES IN PROJECT PERFORMANCE .............................................................. 62
4.4.3 PROPOSITION C3: INDUSTRY SECTOR IS RELATED TO DIFFERENCES
IN PROJECT PERFORMANCE ......................................................................................... 63
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