Toward a theory of knowledge reuse: Types of knowledge reuse situations and factors in reuse success

This paper represents a step toward a theory of knowledge reusability, with emphasis on knowledge management systems and repositories, often called or ganizational memory systems. Synthesis of evidence from a wide variety of s ources suggests four distinct types of knowledge reuse situations according to the knowledge reuser and the purpose of knowledge reuse. The types invo lve shared work producers, who produce knowledge they later reuse; shared w ork practitioners, who reuse each other's knowledge contributions; expertis e-seeking novices; and secondary knowledge miners. Each type of knowledge r euser has different requirements for knowledge repositories. Owing to how r epositories are created, reusers' requirements often remain unmet. Reposito ries often require considerable rework to be useful for new reusers, but kn owledge producers rarely have the resources and incentives to do a good job of repurposing knowledge. Solutions include careful use of incentives and human and technical intermediaries.