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The new economy, or knowledge‐based era, not only brings with it additional challenges to the employee communication process, but also inspired solutions. Historically, employee communication has been constrained by the limitations of traditional media. The choice of media for the dissemination of information has increased over the years but none has had the potential to galvanise broad‐sweeping changes to the process as have intranets. To maximise the benefits for their organisations, communicators must become comfortable working with the new technology, progress up the technology‐adoption curve, learn to balance tech with touch, and be prepared to deconstruct previously held models of communication.

Intranets hold great promise as “organizational Internets” to allow information sharing and collaboration across departments, functions and different information systems within an organization. Yet not much is known about how to implement intranets. We adapt a taxonomy based on institutional theory and distinguish six broad diffusion drivers that might be considered to sustain the implementation process. An exploratory field study of four intranet implementations was conducted to analyze which drivers were used and the results that were yielded. We draw several conclusions. First, all six drivers were deployed in the analyzed cases. Second, the choice of drivers varied with the level of the intranet (corporate or unit), the implementation stage, and existing organizational practices and contingencies. Third, it seems that the critical drivers are knowledge building, subsidy and mobilization in the early stages of implementation. In the later stages knowledge deployment, subsidy and innovation directives were most commonly used.

Discusses the use of intranet technology within business and academic institutions. Presents the CLASIC model, a layered application model to plan, design, develop and implement systems intended to support collaborative activities in an organization using intranet capabilities. Discusses how the model can be adapted to one type of institution in an academic context. Provides a framework to assist planners as they contemplate the use of the intranet and identifies the issues faced when attempting to implement the CLASIC model. Suggests strategies and provides a basis to plan for changes in organizations.

The University of Oklahoma Libraries (UL) has created content management tools located on the staff intranet. These tools allow library personnel to control the content on the web site while the library systems office maintains site navigation and consistent site design. These tools have been in place for approximately three years, but this study is the first formal evaluation of these systems.

To evaluate usage of the content management tools in place at UL, the authors surveyed all levels of library personnel to see how they utilize the library intranet to manage web site content. The authors examined both self‐reported usage of the staff intranet and data collected from the systems office about actual usage.

This study provides insight on the intended use of content management systems versus the actual usage of these systems.

Future research should focus on how CMS is being used by regular users of the systems rather than usage of the system as a whole. Survey results were skewed by including student workers who seldom have reason to use the intranet or CMS tools within the scope of their positions.

Explores the issues surrounding the use of the intranet as a tool for communication and managing content on a public web site. Tools must be properly marketed if they are to be fully utilized.

This paper will benefit those in organizations that are considering locally developing content management tools or that are beginning to evaluate usage of their staff intranet.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on studying the impact of collaborative technologies on firm performance. The methodology used analyzes the influence of collaborative technologies not only directly but through an intermediary variable. This variable represents different intranet use orientations (e‐information, e‐communication and e‐transaction).

A structured questionnaire consisting of close‐ended questions was developed. Face‐to‐face surveys were conducted on a sample comprising 310 Spanish firms in May 2005. Research hypotheses were tested through ANOVA and hierarchical regression analyses.

Empirical results show that distinct collaborative technologies are associated with different intranet use orientations and demonstrate there is a positive relationship between e‐information and organizational performance. That is, the use of collaborative technologies with an informational orientation contributes to increased organizational performance. In addition, the existence of complementarities between e‐information and e‐communication were found. Thus, firms using collaborative technologies for e‐information in conjunction with e‐communication achieve better performance. The collaborative technology that has the greatest impact on firm performance is in fact the less employed.

This study confirms collaborative technologies are oriented to different, but compatible, uses. However, only certain uses present complementarities and have a direct impact on firm performance.

This article looks at the issues that need to be considered in specifying and purchasing content management software for an Intranet. The differences between the content management requirements of a web site and those of an Intranet are emphasised, and guidance is provided on the selection of a software supplier.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate the impact of franchisor support on quick service restaurant (QSR) users’ intranet acceptance; and to examine the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explain QSR users’ attitude toward the franchise intranet usage. Franchisors are building intranet systems as a communication tool to assist their franchisees in performing their jobs better. However, there is a little available literature that discusses in detail the use of the intranet by franchise systems.

This study adopted the TAM to investigate the acceptance of the intranet in the context of QSR franchise systems. The original TAM was modified to include an external variable, franchise support. A total of 161 returned and completed responses were examined. Descriptive analysis, validity, principal component factor analysis and regression analysis were used to estimate the relationships between constructs.

The key finding of this study is that franchise support is a key in the decision for users to use intranet systems in the QSR franchise systems. This study also confirmed that there are positive and significant relationships among key variables: franchise support, perceived usefulness of intranet, perceived ease of use of intranet, attitude toward using intranet and behavioral intentions to use intranet. Regression analysis revealed that TAM is a valid model in predicting intranet adoption in restaurant franchise systems.

This study pursued franchise support, which was not included in the original TAM, to see how it affects perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and intention to use. In addition, a list of recommendations for improving the situation in that franchise organization is provided.

This paper investigates the roles of the time for system enhancement, work place relocation, and other organizational constructs, such as organization support, task characteristics, intranet characteristics and user characteristics in the use of intranet and web‐enabled applications (IWAs) for supporting management accounting in public hospitals.

The research was carried out in Hong Kong public hospitals, and a pseudo‐longitudinal study spans a duration of one‐and‐a‐half years to observe changes that occur over time. A two‐phased survey research which investigated how the use of IWAs supports management accounting was also conducted for this study.

The survey results unearthed a number of findings. In the phase I survey, intranet user information satisfaction had a direct significant impact on information quality of management accounting systems (MASIQ). The extent of task characteristics also improves the performance of MASIQ. However, mixed research results were found regarding the presence of top management support and IS experience of users and their contribution to intranet user information satisfaction and MASIQ. User training also did not show any significant impact on intranet user information satisfaction and MASIQ. The phase II survey results reflect two additional findings. First, workplace relocation (one office management practice) was found to have a negative impact on the support of management accounting. Second, the time for system enhancement improves the acceptance of IWAs in public hospitals.

The study provides support for certain prior research findings though some other findings were not consistent with expectations. The study was based on 157 hospital executives in the phase I survey and 147 hospital executives in the phase II survey. The findings are generalized reliably to the population studied – Hong Kong public hospitals. More research is needed for explorations of these findings. The research results contribute to the knowledge of uses of intranet for management accounting and control in public hospitals.

The research offers insights into management accounting and control systems, as they are implemented through intranet in public hospitals. Work place relocation is less effective for grouping talents to work in offices at different locations. Face‐to‐face communication at a workplace is more efficient than communication through intranet applications. The study reinforced the belief that top management support is of prior concern in improving managerial performance.

The roles of IWAs on the time for system enhancement and workplace relocation have not previously been studied. The results provide some useful support of prior findings and some modifications as well as extensions that further understanding in these areas.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the use of the human resources (HR) intranet at managerial levels in terms of internal customer satisfaction with the HR function.

Using role theory to underpin the research, this study examines both the changing role of managers as well as managers' expectations of the HR function as an internal service provider and HR's use of intranet applications to provide these services. The current literature encompassing ICT, marketing and HR is reviewed and used as a guide for the design of the single case pilot study.

Overall, the results indicate that managers who perceive their expectations as being met, express satisfaction with the HR intranet and record increased satisfaction with the HR function. However, differences of perceptions emerge concerning this satisfaction between HR managers (i.e. suppliers) and other managers (i.e. customers). The findings also indicate that the effectiveness of communication concerning information about new technology (including that of training, marketing, user involvement and feedback) influences managers' perceptions of satisfaction with both the HR intranet and the HR function.

These findings suggest that the intranet can play a powerful part in helping HR to build a closer and more satisfactory relationship with its customers in order to achieve mutual organisational benefit. However, this preliminary study also emphasises the need for further research on the impact and effectiveness of the HR intranet.

This paper begins the process of filling a substantial gap in the literature and provides a framework from which further research can be continued.

The article considers the relationship between effective knowledge creation, acquisition and management and the user interface. The need for and problems associated with knowledge management are discussed and a useful model for organisational learning development is proposed (IPRAM). The article makes a detailed consideration of interface issues in relation to knowledge management and their role in synergising the personal‐corporate knowledge nexus for organisational and economic benefit. Alternative customisable representations of intranets are presented with their implications discussed. Network models, metaphors and iconic interfaces all have their merits. Besides improving interface representations of the intranet researchers need to consider how conceptual and experiential knowledge can be captured in the intranet.