Knowledge sourcing from repositories: The role of system characteristics and psychological climate

This paper draws on the knowledge management literature to develop hypotheses that relate key knowledge repository (KR) characteristics and psychological climate to KR knowledge sourcing behavior these hypotheses are tested using survey data from 110 technical support agents from seven companies. The results reveal that searchability (finding knowledge in the KR), actionability (applying retrieved knowledge to problem solving) and support for knowledge contribution are characteristics of a KR that predict its use. Moreover, two of these relationships are moderated by the degree to which a knowledge worker perceives a climate that is conducive to KR knowledge sourcing (high autonomy, high innovation, and low work pressure).