The Inquiring Organization

Chun Wei Choo is Professor of the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. His recent books include The Knowing Organization (OUP, 2nd ed., 2006), The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge (OUP, 2002), Information Management for the Intelligent Organization (3rd ed., 2001), and Web Work: Information Seeking and Knowledge Work on the World Wide Web (2000).

• Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Knowledge and Information in Organizational Learning: An Introduction PART ONE: ORGANIZATIONAL EPISTEMOLOGYChapter 2. Justifying Belief: The Pyramid, the Raft, and the Crossword PuzzleChapter 3. Pragmatist Views of Knowledge: Knowledge as Communal InquiryChapter 4. Social Epistemology and Organizational LearningChapter 5. Epistemic Virtues and Vices PART TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION BEHAVIORChapter 6. Models of Human Information BehaviorChapter 7. Information in OrganizationsChapter 8. Internet EpistemologyChapter 9. The Inquiring Organization ReferencesIndex

"One more time, Professor Choo offers a unique and ground breaking analysis of the nature of human organization and information behaviour. Mastering more than ever the art of weaving concepts, theories and models from various disciplines into a fascinating text, Choo provides a completely innovative discussion aimed at understanding how and why organizations acquire knowledge, and seek and use information. The book should become indispensable and a must-readfor anyone seriously interested in studying organizations in the age of the Internet. It brings a totally new and much-needed modern perspective of organizations that will challenge well-establishedapproaches in organizational theory and information science." --France Bouthillier, Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University"Choo's The Inquiring Organization is a monumental achievement. This book should be required reading in fields such as organizational behavior, library and information science, organizational communication, knowledge management, and information systems." --Ronald E. Rice, Arthur N. Rupe Professor in the Social Effects of Mass Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara"Chun Wei Choo's new book is a well-grounded theoretical text that will also benefit the organizational practices of information management and use. The Inquiring Organization will be an essential text for any teaching programme in information management and for courses on organizational information behaviour, but it should also be read by any organizational manager concerned with ensuring that organizational decisions at any level are well-founded." --T.D. Wilson, Senior Professor, University of Borås, Sweden"In The Inquiring Organization, Choo raises the critical question of how information is transformed into knowledge to support organizational learning. The book brings together theories of information and organizational behavior with pragmatic, social, and value-driven information-seeking and knowledge acquisition to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding and improving inquiring organizations. This important book comes at a critical time inthe development of organizational theory and is highly recommended for those concerned with organizational sense-making, knowledge creation, and decision making." --Carol C. Kuhlthau, Professor Emerita, Department of Library and Information Science, Rutgers University"A remarkable achievement and enjoyable reading for scholars in organizational communication, knowledge management, information systems, and organizational behavior." --International Journal of Communication"The amount of intellectual effort put into the book is remarkable...I am quite sure that many young and senior researchers may find a way out of a creative block that many of us run into from time to time or a brilliant idea for a project while reading this monograph." --InformationResearch