Ghosh, Bishwadip (Ph.D. candidate) and Scott, Judy E.

IEEE Transactions on IT and Biomedicine, Vol. 9 , Issue 2, pp. 162 – 168

Although knowledge management (KM) tools are well established in technical support organizations, healthcare organizations have only recently become aware of their benefits. This research investigates whether healthcare should adopt the same tools taking into account the different KM requirements in the two industries. This study analyzes narratives from key personnel in a technical support organization and a healthcare organization to understand and compare their KM process components and facilitating information technology. The empirical data reveal that healthcare needs a personalization approach to KM focusing on new problem identification using interactive knowledge webs, while technical support relies on a codification approach for problem resolution using interpretive knowledge and a chain structure.