Interaction between Management and Knowledge Workers in Knowledge Processes: An Integrated View Combining both Consensus-based Perspective and Dissensus-based Perspective
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Abstract
This paper aimed to explore knowledge management activities used by organizations and knowledge workers’ responses to these management activities based on an integrated view combining both consensus-based perspective and dissensus-based perspective. A total of 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with software programmers and their managers. A thematic analysis approach was adopted to analyze the qualitative data. The findings reflected that management wished to remove the potentially risky exercise of initiative to secure the quality of work through directive procedures. However, knowledge workers needed to follow these directive procedures in order to smooth the completion of their work, at the same time, they occasionally conflicted with managers’ proceduralising of their work by developing context-related solutions in order to better deal with possible unexpected situations. Thus, interaction between management and knowledge workers in knowledge processes was neither an outcome of unconditional consensus nor absolute dissensus but a consensus-based antagonism process.
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