Deciding to use an enterprise wiki: the role of social institutions and scripts

Wikis have significant potential to improve knowledge work and information sharing within organisations. But in spite of their usability and simplicity, adoption experience is varied. In this research we conducted an ethnographic study of wiki implementation to understand why some people chose to use the systems and others did not. We focused upon the influence of institutional scripts on information sharing behaviour. We found that certain norms and premises at the industry, organisational and sub‐unit level appear to influence decisions to use the wiki. This study contributes to the knowledge management literature by demonstrating the role of institutional scripts in decisions to use this software for knowledge sharing. It may also guide practitioners in planning for the introduction of social software and lead to further research into identifying social institutions in specific industry types, which influence users in their adoption decisions.