Why Didn't You Tell Me? Toward Building a Model of Why Information Is Not Shared Well in Organizations

The effective use of information in an organization is vital to its success. One of the biggest investments being made today by companies is in their information infrastructures. However, with all of the resources being dedicated to improving information flows, evidence shows that organizations still do not share information as widely as they could or should be. Many studies have been conducted to learn the reasons why people in organizations do not share information as well as would be good. However, no study was found that reported the relative frequency of reported reasons for not sharing information. This paper gather and reports that information. A study such as this can help information managers identify areas within their organizations where information is not being shared well and decide where focusing their efforts will be most productive when trying to increase information sharing.