Knowledge Repositories and Knowledgeable Action

In spite of the importance of knowledge reuse much is still unknown about how knowledge management artifacts influence reuse in practice. In this paper we use the concept of scaffolding to explore how knowledge repositories influence knowledgeable action. We conceptualize anchoring and adjustment as the processes involved in the use of scaffolding such as knowledge repositories. By viewing reuse in terms of these mechanisms, we can begin to consider the reuse processes individually as involving (1) choice of document for reuse and (2) adaptation of the document’s suggested solution applied to a current problem. We suggest the document acts as an anchor to frame the current problem consistent with the problem solved in the document, and that the suggested solution is then adapted through the adjustment process to meet the needs of the current problem. We subsequently explore the factors that influence both anchor choice and adjustment.