Information Technology Reference
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Figure 1. An ecological model for information management. Source: Davenport, 1998, p. 51
to collaborate in real time, to collect data and to
establish a process of disciplined reflection.
According to Leonard-Barton (1998, p. 20), the
key point for a company to manage its knowledge
is to understand its strategic skills, which represent
a competitive advantage that is not easily imitated.
They can provide a permanent advantage over
competitors.
Choo suggests that the survival of businesses
depends on their ability to process information
about the environment and transform them into
knowledge that enables them to adapt to change.
This skill to adapt is a smart organizational char-
acteristic and it is the key to have an intelligent
organizational behavior in an environment of rapid
changes. (Choo, 2002).
solving through collaborative practices, organiza-
tions must provide an environment conducive to
such exchanges or encourage the development of
an appropriate context.
Davenport used the term ecology to name the
holistic way to treat and manage information.
Coined by the author, the term information ecol-
ogy means the interfaces between the various
environments of information (Davenport 1998,
p. 43-64).
Davenport (1997) uses the metaphor of in-
formation ecology to examine the attributes and
the key dynamics to characterize an effective and
healthy organizational environment of informa-
tion. (CHOO 2002, p. 48)
Information ecology is a multidisciplinary
and holistic approach to treating information and
its relationship with the external environments,
organizational and informational, as shown in
Figure 1 .
information environment
The barrier to the sharing of ideas is no longer
on the stack of information and tacit knowledge
which is difficult to be explained or stored. These
days the biggest barrier is the organization envi-
ronment. To promote information sharing, the
emergence of ideas, innovations and problem
“We must keep in mind that the relationship be-
tween the organizational context and its informa-
tion environment is a two-way street, that is, the
environment can guide and motivate a specific
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