A Dual-Perspective Approach to Understanding Collegial Information Mediation in the Workplace by Ji Yeon Yang a Dissertation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A Dual-Perspective Approach to Understanding Collegial Information Mediation in the Workplace by Ji Yeon Yang A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Information) in The University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Soo Young Rieh, Chair Professor Mark Steven Ackerman Professor Chun Wei Choo, University of Toronto Assistant Professor Michael T. Heaney Assistant Professor Lionel P. Robert © Ji Yeon Yang 2013 Dedication To our God, Abba Father, who is faithful to us even during those times when we are faithless. To my father, Ju-Seok Yang (양주석), who encouraged me to have a dream when I was growing up and supported my education with resources and prayers. To my mother, Hyeon-Sook Dong (동현숙), who prayed for me day and night with great love and care. To my awesome husband, Justin Charles Canniff, for unwavering love, support, and understanding. And to my baby brother Sung-Hyek Yang (양승혁) and, father-in-law, Ronald Canniff. ii Acknowledgements Throughout the doctoral program, God has shown His sovereignty, love, mercy, power, and encouragement. All the glory to the Lord! I believe that He opened the door for accomplishing this PhD for a reason – to be a light and salt in the world for His glory (not my own), to love those people around me, and to “loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke” (Isaiah 58:6). This dissertation research was not possible without all those people who supported and mentored me. First, I have been extremely blessed to work with my advisor, Professor Soo Young Rieh, throughout my doctoral studies. She has been my role model and inspiration since the beginning of my master’s studies in 2006 winter. Her passion and enthusiasm for research has been extremely contagious. No words can express my gratitude for her great mentoring and opportunities she granted. It also has been a great privilege and honor to work with other members of my committee. Professor Mark Ackerma, Lionel Robert, Chun Wei Choo, and Michael Heaney provided wise counsel and expert guidance. Second, I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. Natalie Schoch for the enormous friendship and awesome opportunity that she provided which enabled this research. I believe that she is a gift from God. God showed his faithfulness through her friendship, support, and love. Third, I would like to thank the 75 people who participated in this study in the midst of the busyness at work. Their generosity with their time and willingness to share their experiences enabled me to collect this rich and meaningful data. Fourth, I also would like to thank SI and Rackham Graduate School for providing funding support for my work. The SI staffs also have been extremely helpful. My fellow students have also been great support and I will miss every single one of them. I especially want to thank my friend, Devan Donaldson, for his great friendship and sincerity. iii Last, but not least, I want to thank all of my family members. Without their prayers, I would never have made it this far. The encouragements I received from every single family members were a great source of motivation. I thank my dad, whose passion for learning and intellectual challenges has been a great inspiration for me to pursue PhD. My mom has been my best friend, supporter, counselor throughout the doctoral program. All the bible verses and words of wisdom she sent to me were a great source of encouragement. Nothing can compare to her love for her daughter. I especially thank my husband, Justin, who is currently finalizing his dissertation. He knows how much I love him and feel blessed with his presence in my life. I look forward to how God will open our doors and lead us to the next chapter of our life together. All the glory to the Lord. “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.” (Psalm 150:6) iv Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. xi Abstract ............................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Definition of Collegial Information Mediation ....................................................... 3 1.3 Problem Statement .................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Objectives and Scope of Study ............................................................................... 6 1.5 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 7 1.6 Research Design ...................................................................................................... 7 1.7 Structure of the Dissertation ................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 Literature Review .............................................................................................. 9 2.1 Information Behavior in the Workplace ............................................................... 10 2.1.1 Nature of Information Need ..........................................................................10 2.1.2 Types of Information Sources .......................................................................13 2.1.3 Factors Affecting the Selection of Information Sources ...............................15 2.1.4 Information Seeking and Providing Behavior ..............................................20 2.1.5 Summary: Information Behavior in the Workplace......................................27 2.2 Knowledge Management and Enterprise 2.0 ........................................................ 28 2.2.1 Types of Knowledge .....................................................................................28 2.2.2 Knowledge Communication .........................................................................29 2.2.3 The Emergence of Enterprise 2.0 ..................................................................35 2.2.4 Summary: Knowledge Management and Enterprise 2.0 ..............................39 2.3 Information Mediators .......................................................................................... 40 2.3.1 Definition of Information Mediators ............................................................40 2.3.2 Formal Information Mediators ......................................................................41 v 2.3.3 Informal Information Mediators ...................................................................43 2.3.4 Summary: Information Mediators.................................................................47 2.4 Trust Perception .................................................................................................... 48 2.4.1 Trust in Humans ............................................................................................48 2.4.2 Trust in Information ......................................................................................59 2.4.3 Summary: Trust Perception ..........................................................................63 2.5 Conceptual Framework ......................................................................................... 64 2.5.1 Scope Conditions ..........................................................................................66 2.5.2 Overview of CIM Framework ......................................................................66 Chapter 3 Research Design .............................................................................................. 72 3.1 Overview ............................................................................................................... 72 3.2 Participants ............................................................................................................ 75 3.2.1 Research Site .................................................................................................75 3.2.2 Participant Recruitment ................................................................................75 3.3 Data Collection Methods ...................................................................................... 76 3.3.1 Phase 1 – Online Diary Study .......................................................................77 3.3.2 Phase 2 – Semi-Structured Interviews ..........................................................80 3.3.3 Data Collected ...............................................................................................82 3.4 Data Analysis Methods ......................................................................................... 83 Chapter 4 Results ............................................................................................................