Evidence based sources as precursors of knowledge driven decisions through emerging technologies

Abstract

Knowledge is an essential building block in every decision process both at individual and / or at social unit level. This reality makes the role of knowledge and its management crucial to understand how to arrive to an effective decision. Through this study, the researcher wanted to investigate how knowledge drives the decision-making process. Three Research Questions (RQs) were utilised to investigate this scope from three aspects: 1) how knowledge based on evidence-based sources converges to provide effective decisions; 2) how emerging technologies could serve as a knowledge enabler; 3) what impedes the knowledge flow within the decision-making process. In order to reach the research scope, a conceptual model was drawn which involved three established theoretical models; Barends, Rousseau and Briner (2014) Evidence-Based management’s 6As; Evans et al. (2014) KM Model; and Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) SECI knowledge creation model. The conceptual model served as a blueprint for the primary research results within the theoretical implications discussion. The context of the primary research was that of a Scrum team setup within a single IT company. The research was carried out using deep interviews. Following the interviews, Thematic Analysis was used to find the themes. This study indicated that the Scrum team, due to the nature of the framework, invested less time in the evidence acquisition, and more effort into interpersonal collaboration. This, together with the fact that it is a lightweight documentation framework, any impediment that affects interpersonal collaboration, affects the knowledge flow and hence the effectiveness of the decision process.