The organization as a transactive memory system

Transactive memory systems (TMS) essentially consist of sets of directories containing metadata which point to knowledge locations and the processes that maintain and utilize those directories. In this chapter, we introduce the notion of the organization and consider how this perspective can assist with the design of human and technology-supported systems to improve knowledge sharing in distributed and virtual organizations. We describe development of a scale to measure TMS quality in organizational surveys and present evidence for organizational TMS obtained from semi-structured interviews with the staff of an engineering consulting organization with people working in many countries.