Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for
a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and
private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without
the permission of the Author.
SOU RCES OF I NFORMAT ION
FOR NEW Z EALAND KNOOLEDGE WORKERS
A t h e s i s pr e se nte d in pa r t i al f ul f il ment of t h e r e q u i r em e n t s f o r t h e d e g r e e o f D oct o r o f P h i l o s o p h y i n B u s i n e s s S t u d i e s a t M a s s e y Univ e r s i ty .
FRANCI S XAVIER SL IGO
1 9 86
'I'itle of thesis:
Sources o f I n format ion For( J ) ( il)
(2)
�lia�.r:s in t:RQ 114els&il¥ Tinj.l�lPBi;t;y :bilsnu¥ li1Pl8i1F 9enliih:sM
Qgtg�jggg by the rjh•iriaQ
(b)
Ido not wish
mythesis to be made available to readers without
mywritten consent for 2 4 m:mths.
ilft8'Sfl9.r: ins'&i'&\o"ltiQR 'lRiiiJF 'iilQRQ;i.;l;:;i.QRiiii Qf!11iilHli.RiJQ lsy
1iA'iil I.;ilw&iiiliiiiiPI.
I
do not wish
mythesis, or a copy, to be sent to another institution without
mywritten consent �or
2 4 rronths.
( 1) ( iil)
(b)
Ido not wish
mythesis to be copied for Library use for 2 4 rronths.
Signed Date
The'· copyright of this thesis belongs to the author. Readers must
sign their narre in the space below to show that they recognise
·this. They
areasked to add their permanent address.
Sources o f Informati on for New Zealand Knowledge Worker s
ABSTRACT
L i t tl e i s cur r e ntly known abo ut the w ay s i n whi ch knowle d ge w o r k e r s i n New Z e al an d o r ga n i s a t i o n s p r e se ntly use a nd p r e f e r t o us e bo t h i nt e r pe r s o nal a n d p r i nt s o u r ce s o f inf orm ati on. Thi s study exam ine d the sour ce s em pl oy e d by 3 1 8 k n owl edge w o r k e r s i n 1 7 o r g a n i sa t i ons, com pr i s i ng a m i x t u r e o f p r i v a t e s e c t o r , p u bl i c s e ct o r a n d q u a s i
g ov e r nm e ntal ente r pr i se s. Env i r o nm ental and orga ni sati o nal , i n d iv i dual and s ou r ce cha r a ct e r i st i cs we r e expl o r e d i n a r ev i ew of the l it e r atur e r el ev ant t o i nf o rm at i on sour ce s , and a w i de var i ety of di s pa r ate poi nt s of v iew we r e f ound am o ng pr ev ious w r ite r s o n the s ubj e ct.
T o a cc omm oda t e t h e r el a t i v el y un dev el o pe d natur e of the t opi c , an e xpl o r atory and de s c r i pt iv e st udy was de s i gne d i n o r der to e stabl ish som e ba s i c f in d i ngs. Re se a r ch methods i ncl ude d clust e r analysi s and c omm un i ca ti on ne tw or k anal y s i s ( i n t h e pil ot st u d i e s ) ; a s s e s sm e nt o f s o u r ce r ank i ng s , c r o s st a b ul a t i o n s o f s t a t us a n d s o u r c e s , b r e a kd o w n o f e d u c a t i on a nd pr int s o u r c e s , c o r r e l a t i on co e f f i c i ent s o f sta t us , educati on and s o ur ce s , and d i s c r epa ncy analys i s of s ou r ce s pr ese ntly use d a nd pr ef e r r ed.
Sev e n obj ectives w e r e devel ope d , whi ch m ay be collaps e d i nt o f i v e m a i n t o p i c a r e a s: p r e s e nt a nd p r ef e r r e d u s e o f i n f o rm at i on s o u r ce s , a n d d i s c r e pa nc i e s a r i s i ng ; u s e by pa r t i c i pant s o f inte r pe r so nal a nd pr int-ba se d s o u r ce s o f i n f ormat i o n ; use of source s w h i ch w e r e i nt e r nal and e xt e r nal t o t h e or ga n i s a t i on ; t he r el at i on shi ps be tween pa r t i c i pa nt s ' s t a t u s a n d s o u r c e u s e ; a n d t h e r el a t i on s h i ps be tw e e n pa r t i ci pa nt s ' educa t i on and s o u r ce use.
I n i t i ally f r om t h e cl u s t e r i n g p r o c e s s i n the two pil ot st u di e s , a nd l ate r f r om t h e r an k i ng p r o ce d u r e a c r os s all o r ga n i sa t i ons , it be cam e ev ide nt that par t i c i pa nt s ' sta t us w a s a c r u c i al f a c t o r i n t h e p r e s e n t u s e o f s o u r c e s.
Alt h o ug h di st i n ct d i f f e r ence s by sta t us l evel s w e r e f oun d f or p r e s e nt s o ur ce us e , p r e f e r r e d s o u r ce use was alm o st e nt ir ely unr el ated t o st a t u s l ev el. Ove r all , i t a ppe a r e d t h a t a s these knowledge wor ke r s m ov ed u p the h i e r a r chy they t e n d e d t o r e c e i v e m o r e i n f o rm a t i on a n d r e c o r d f ew e r di s c r e panci es between i nf orm at i on r ece ived and s o ught.
F r om the i nvest iga t i on of inte r pe r so nal and pr i nt sour ce s , i t w a s f o und t ha t ce r t a i n v e ry a c c e s s i bl e a nd i nt e r nal i nt e r pe r s onal sour ce s (cowor ke r s , s upe r i or , s ubo r d i nate s a nd th e g r apev ine ) we r e m ost use d , though two (al so acce ss i bl e a n d i nt e r nal ) pr int s o u r ce s (m em os and new slett e r s ) we r e al s o f req ue ntly cited. Use o f th e g r apevine seemed t o be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h l e s s e r a c ce s s t o f o rm al o r of f i c i al l y s a n ct i one d s o u r ce s o f inf ormat i on , but it w a s al s o f ound t h a t pa r t i c i pa nt s t e nde d t o pr e f e r t o r ece ive gr a pe v i ne i nf o rm ati on only som etim e s ; i f f r eq ue ncy of co ntact e x c e e de d t h i s , a ne gative discr epa ncy was l ikely t o occur.
- i i -
Few ove r t indica ti o n s o f inf orm ati on ove rl oa d w e r e f ound , but the r e was som e ev i de nce t o s ugge st that the phe nom enon of ove rl oad w as m or e cl o sely r el ate d t o w hat st a f f f el t a bl e t o handl e r athe r than t o w hat they woul d 1 ike t o hav e had.
Th e r e w a s al s o s om e e v i d e n ce that e xt e r nal so ur ce s w e r e c o nt a ct e d m o r e b y s t a f f a t t h e t o p a nd b o t t om of t h e or ga n i sa ti on , t h a n by t h e tw o m id dl e l ev el s. A com pl ex pa t t e r n of co r r el a t i on s s e em e d t o a pply i n r e s pe ct o f e d u c a t i on a n d s o u r ce u s e ; r el a t i on s h i ps a p pe a r ed t o be em e r g i ng b e tw e e n e du ca t i on a n d e xt e r nal sour ce s and t he gr apev ine.
- i i i -
ACKNCMLEDGEMENTS
The w r i t e r thanks h i s s upe rv isor s , Pr of e s s o r Ral ph Lov e , of t h e D e pa r tm e nt o f M a na gem e nt a n d Adm i n i st r at i on , Ma s sey Univ e r s i ty , D r Rich a r d S pe nce of the Napi e r Ci ty Co uncil , D r D i ck B rook of the D e pa r tm e nt of Mathem a t i c s a nd Stati st i cs a n d D r Tony Vital i s o f the D e pa r tm ent o f M a nagem ent and Adm i n i s t r a t i on , M a s s e y Un i v e r s i ty , f o r t h e i r c o n s t a nt
s uppor t and a dv ice ove r th e var i ous stage s of th i s thesi s.
Thanks a r e due to a v a r i ety of f r i ends a nd colleague s who i n m a n y w a y s e n 1 a r g e d t h e w r i t e r ' s h o r i z o n s , h el p e d t o a ccel e r ate h i s pr og r e s s up n um e r ous l ea r ni ng c ur v e s and gave m u c h u s e f ul a d v i c e: t h ey i n cl u d e Ph i l i p D ew e , D o n
E s sl em ont , Judy Ca r tw r i ght and J udi Cam pbell.
Thanks a r e al so due t o the organi sati ons r epr e s e nted i n the st udy and the pe opl e w ithin them who gave f re ely of th e i r time , t o the m any oth e r i ndiv idual s w ho, a s s i s t e d w ith adv ice a nd s uppor t , and t o t h e team of se c r e ta r i al st a f f w ho co pe d s o w ell w i th th i s w o r k i n i t s m any m an i f e s t a t i ons: Pa t B e df or d , Lisa Boy s , Anna D unn , Sue Far q uh ar , Lau r a Hicks o n , Tr acy M u r r ay and (most pa r t i cul arly ) M a r ie Sm ith.
E s pe c i al than ks a r e d ue to M a ry Sl igo f or he r uns t i nt i ng g i f t s o f t im e , e n c o u r a gem e nt a nd s up po r t ; a n d t o o ur chil d r en Rut h , Conor and El inor f or the i r t ol e r ance of an a bs e ntee f athe r.
- iv -
Abst r act
Acknowledgem e nt s L i st of Tabl e s L i st o f Figu r e s
Chapter 1 Int r oduct i on Knowledge Wor ke r s
Sour ce s o f Inf o rm a t i on
CONTENTS
A M odel of Inform at i on Sour ce Use Cha r acte r i st i cs o f Sour ce s
M e thodol og i cal Appr oa c h e s Aim s of the Study
Chapter 2 Literature Review Intr oduct i on
Channel s and Sour ce s Acce s s i bil ity
Commun i cati on or Inf orm ati on Gaps Com pe t i t iv e Intell i ge nce System s Consul tati on w ith Wor k e r s
Expe r ience a s a " Sour ce "
F i na nc i al Inf orm at i on Sour ce s Inf orm ati on D e cay Rate
Inf ormation E nv i r onm e nt Inf orm ati on Ove rl oa d Inf orm ati on Pot e nt i al Inf orm ati on Q ual ity Inf orm at i on Resour ce s Inf orm ati on Ri chne s s
Inte r nal and E xt e r nal Sour ce s and Innov ati on Networ ks and the Inv i s i bl e College
New Z ealand Re se a r c h Oral and W r itten Sour ce s
" Se a r ch " f or Inf orm at i on Act ive or Pas s iv e?
Sour ce Re se a r ch Pr o pe r Commun i cati on Aud i t s Concl us i on
Chapter 3· Research Methodology Pr obl em s of Comm un i ca t i on Re sea r ch Val idi ty
Uni t and L ev el of Analys i s
Occupati onal Cl ass i f i ca t i on of the Sam pl e The Re sea r ch Env i r onm e nt
The Rese a r ch Obj ect i v e s
The Obj ect iv es a nd t h e L ite r at u r e Rev iew Chapter 4 An alysi s of the D�
The Pil ot St udi e s
Exam inati on o f the Ran k i ngs o f Sour ce s C r os stabul ati ons and B rea kdowns
Co r r el ati ons
D i scr epancy Analys i s
- V -
Page i i i v v i i v i i i
1 2 9 1 9 23 26 3 0
3 2 3 6 3 9 4 4 4 7 5 2 5 5 5 7 6 1 6 4 6 5 7 1 7 1 7 5 7 6 7 9 8 5 9 3 9 7 1 1 3 129 1 51 1 56 1 5 8 1 5 8 1 7 8 1 93 1 97 2 0 5 21 4 217 22 8 229 2 3 3 23 8 23 9 243
Chapte r 5 Di scussion of Resul ts 245
Sou r ce s of Inf orm at i on Reasse sse d 246
Expl or atory Analys i s of th e Pilot Studi e s 2 5 4
Netw o r k Analys i s 26 8
Cl ust e r i ng t h e Sour ce s 2 8 5
Pr i nc i pl es S ugge s t e d by the Cl uste r i ng 3 0 4 The Ran k i ngs o f Sour ce s: All Pa r t i c i pa nt s 3 1 6
Non supe rv isory Staf f 3 3 8
Fi r st - L i ne S upe rv isor s 3 46
M iddl e M a na g e r s 3 56
Top M a na gem e nt 3 6 8
D i scus s i on o f Cr o s st a bul ati ons: Status a nd Sour ce s 3 80
Educat i on a nd S o ur ce U se 3 9 3
Cor rel at i on s Am ong Status , Educa t i on and Sour ce s 4 0 1
Status and S ou r ce s 4 0 3
Educa t i on and S o ur ce s 4 1 0
An Analys i s of D i scr epancy Res ul ts 4 1 6
Chapt e r
6
Concl usi ons 43 4Pr ese nt and P r ef e r r ed Use of Sour ce s a nd D i s c r e pa n c i e s 43 5 Use of Inte r pe r so nal and Pr i nt Sour ce s 43 9 Use of I nte r nal and E xt e r nal Sour ce s 457
Status a nd Sour ce s 46 3
Educa t i on a nd P r i nt Sour ce s 47 8
Lim itati ons of the Study and Sugge st i ons 4 91 for Fut u r e Re s e a r ch
B ibl i ogr aphy of Wor ks Cite d and Maj or Wor ks Consul ted 4 9 9 Appendi x A
Append ix B
T h e Q ue st i onna i re , Ne twor k Analys i s and 5 4 1 I nt e rv i ew G u i de
G raph s of D i scr epa ncy Sco r e s f or S o ur ce s 5 5 4
- vi -
List of Tabl es
Table
1 . Hi e r a r ch i cal cl uste r s o f sta f f . Sour ce s now , no. l 2. Hi e r a r ch i cal cl uste r s of staf f . Sou r ce s now , no. 2 3 . Hie r a r c h i cal cl uste r s of sour ce s use d now , no. l 4 . Hie r ar ch i cal cl ust e r s o f sour ce s use d n ow , no. 2
5 . Hie r a r ch i cal cl uste r s of st af f . Sour ce s pr ef e r r ed n o . l 6 . Hi e r a r ch ical cl uste r s o f st a f f . Sour ce s pr ef e r r e d n o . 2 7 . Hi e ra r c h i cal cl ust e r s of staf f . Sour ce s pr ef e r r ed n o . 3
8 . Hie r ar ch i cal cl uste r s of sour ce s pr ef e r r ed
9 . Sou r ce s f rom whi ch all pa r t i c i pa nt s say they rece i v e inf o rm ati on now
1 0 . Sour ce s f rom which all pa r t i c i pa nt s say they would l ike to r ece ive i nf orm at i on
1 1 . D i scr e pa n c i e s be tween i nf orm at i on r ece ived now and i nf o rm ati on pr ef e r r e d , all pa r t i c i pa nt s
1 2. Rank i ng of i nf ormati on sour ce s by s i z e of standa r d dev iati on. Now rece ive s co r e s , all pa r ti cipant s 1 3 . Ran k i ng o f inf orm ati on sour ce s by s i z e o f standa rd
dev iati on. Shoul d r ece i v e s co r e s , all pa r t i ci pan t s 1 4 . Sour ce s f rom which nonsupe rvi s o ry st af f say
they pr e se ntly r e cei v e inf o rm a t i on
1 5 . Sour ce s f rom which non s upe rv is o r y staf f woul d l ike t o r ece ive i nf orm at i on
1 6 . Non supe rv i sory staf f: D i s c r e pa nc i e s be tween
inf orm at i on r ece ived now and i nf orm ati on pr ef e r r ed 1 7 . Sou r ce s f rom whi ch f i rst l ine s upe rv is o r s say
they pr e se ntly rece ive i nf o rm at i on
1 8. Sou r ce s f rom which f i rst l ine s u pe rvi so r s would l ike to r ece ive i nf orm at i on
1 9 . Fi r s t -l ine supe rv is o r s: D i sc r e pa nc i e s be tween
i nf o rm at i on r ece ived now a nd i nf orm at i on pr ef e r r ed 20 . Sour ce s f rom which m iddl e m anage r s say they
pr e se ntly r ece ive i nf orm at i on
21 . Sou r ce s f rom which m iddl e m anage r s woul d l ike to r ece ive i nf ormat i on
22. M i ddl e m anage r s: di scr epa nci e s be tween i nf orm ation r e ce iv e d now and i nf orm at i on pr ef e r r ed
23 . Sour ce s f rom whi ch top m anagem e nt staf f say they pr e se ntly rece ive i nf o rm at i o n
24 . Sou r ce s f rom which top m ana gem ent sta f f say they woul d l ike to r ece ive i nf o rm at i on
25 . T o p m anagem ent: D i scr epa n c i e s be tween i nf orm at i on r e ce i v e d now and i nf orm at i on pr ef e r r e d
26 . Com pa r i son of co r rel a t i on coe f f ici e nt s f o r status and s o u r ce s � and pref er r ed , u s i ng Pea r son, Spe a rm an a nd pa r ti al co r r el at i on s , cont r oll ing f or e du ca t i on
27 . Compa r i so n of cor relati on coe f f ici ent s f or educati o n a nd all source s � and pref er red , us i ng Pea r s o n ,
Spe a rm an and pa r t i al co r r el at i on s , cont r oll ing f or sta t us
2 8 . Compa r i so n tabl e: Com pa r i sons ( d i s c r epa nci e s ) b e tw ee n i nf ormat i on now and pr ef e r r ed
- vi i -
26 7 27 0 283 2 89 295 2 96 299 3 06 3 16
3 20 3 22 329 3 3 3 3 37 3 40 3 42 3 45 3 4 9 3 52 3 5 5 3 5 9 3 6 4 3 6 7 3 7 2 3 7 6
4 0 2
4 0 9 2 4 4 a
List of Figures
Figur e
A. Inf orm ati on and knowledge wor ke r s 7
B. A m odel of inf orm at i on s o u r ce use 1 9
c. Inf orm at i on de cay r ate 6 3
D . Boul d i ng' s h i e r a r chy of system com pl ex i ty 1 7 3 E. Cont i nu um of organisati onal comm uni cat i on r esea r ch 1 80
F. Orga n i sa t i ons surveyed 20 4
G. Pil ot st udi e s: Pe r sonnel in g r oups 1 and 2 256
a Sour ce s of inf orm at i on 257
I. Organi sa t i onal s t r uct ur e of g r o ups 1 and 2 26 3 J. D e ndr ograrn show i ng r elati onshi ps am ong s t af f.
Sou r ce s now 27 5
K. Cl ust e r pl ot of staf f. Sour ce s now , opt i on 1 27 6 L. Cl ust e r pl ot of sta f f. Sour ce s now , opt i on 2 27 9 M. G roup 1 p r oduct i on mat r i x a nd s o c i ogr am highl ight i n g
pe r sons 4 , 5 and 12 282
N. D e ndr ogr am show ing r el at i onshi ps am ong s o u r ce s now 291
0. Cl ust e r pl ot of source s use d now 292
P. D e ndr ogr am show ing r el ati onsh i ps am ong s t a f f.
Sour ce s pr ef e r r ed 3 02
Q. Cl ust e r pl ot of staf f. Sour ce s pr ef e r r e d 3 03
� D e ndr ogr am show i ng r el ati onsh i ps am ong s o u r ce s pr e f e r r ed 3 0 9
s. Cl ust e r pl ot of s o u r ce s pr ef e r r e d 3 1 0 T. Cl ust e r pl ot o f s o u r ce s now and pr ef e r r e d combi ne d 3 13
u. D i scr e pa nc i es be tween i nf orm ati on now and pr ef e r r e d ,
all s o u r ce s 5 5 5
V. D i sc r epa n c i e s: Subo r d i nates 5 5 6
w. D i sc r e pa n c i e s: Cow o r ke r s 5 57
X. D i scr epa n c i e s: Pe opl e f rom oth e r uni t s 5 5 8
Y . D i scr epa n c i e s: Immedi ate s upe r i or 5 5 9
z. D i s cr epa nc i e s: M ee t i ngs 5 6 0
Al. D i sc r epa n c i e s: T o p m anagem ent 5 6 1
Bl. D i scr e panci es: G rapev ine 5 6 2
Cl. D i scr epa n c i e s: Cont a ct s o ut s i de 5 6 3
D l. D i scr e pa nc i es: S em ina r s , wor kshops , etc 56 4
El. D i s c r e pa nc i es: M em os 5 6 5
Fl. D i s c r epa nc i e s: L e tte r s 5 6 6
Gl. D i scr epa n c i e s: N ew sl ette r s 5 6 7
Hl. D i sc r epanci e s: O r ga ni sa t i onal r ecor ds 5 6 8 Il. D i scr epanci es: Books not i n a l ib r ary 5 6 9 Jl. D i scr epa nc i e s: J o u r nal s not i n a l ibr ary 57 0
Kl. D i s c r epa n c i e s: O rgani sed l ib r ary 57 1
Ll. D i scr e pa nc i e s: G ov e r nm ent doc um e nt s 572
Ml. D i scr epa nc i e s: CB IRS 57 3
Nl. D i scr epa n c i e s: N ew s medi a 57 4
Pl. Orga ni sa t i on s s u r v eyed no. 2 47 4
- viii -
