Transactive memory systems in organizations: Implications for knowledge directories

This article describes a detailed case study in which the authors observed organizational Transactive Memory Systems (TMS). The concept of TMS was originally used to describe sets of directories that are used to locate, allocate and retrieve knowledge in pairs and small groups. Our case study of head office and distributed knowledge workers revealed that the basic TMS processes and directories appear to be present at an organizational level as well. The results imply that an organization can indeed be seen as a TMS and suggest that information systems which are intended to support TMS should be approached as a component within a complex and multi-dimensional information retrieval ecology.