Stages of growth for knowledge management technology in law firms

Abstract: Information technology support for knowledge management can be linked to stages of growth. The first stage addresses end user tools made available to knowledge workers (people-to-technology), while the second involves information about who knows what (people-to-people). The third stage concerns information held by knowledge workers (people-to-docs), with information systems actually solving knowledge problems constituting the fourth and final stage (people-to-systems). A survey of law firms in Norway found 8 firms at stage 1, 1 firm at stage 11, 11 firms at stage III and 19 firms at stage IV. Empirical validation of the stages of growth model through benchmark variables using Guttman scaling turned out to be problematic.

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