Adoption of the Internet for knowledge acquisition in R&D processes

This research investigated Internet-based knowledge search patterns of engineers and scientists working in R&D for companies in the pharmacological and information technology sectors in Israel. Building on earlier work that considers the multidimensional nature of the relative advantage construct, we examine how perceptions of learning, informational convenience, and trust affected intentions to use the Internet to acquire new knowledge. In particular, these perceptions were studied with regard to both active and passive modes of interaction. We also considered here which types of technological knowledge are acquired by researchers, and how that differs across two professional communities of practice – scientists and engineers. This study sheds light on how R&D workers perceive the relative advantage of acquiring necessary knowledge through passive and active modes of communication with other researchers that are facilitated by the Internet. Findings are of interest to the literature on knowledge spillover because the capability of an organisation to acquire, disseminate, and exploit knowledge is crucial to R&D efforts.