SUPER USERS AS LEARNING AGENTS IN ORGANIZATION’S ECO-SYSTEM OF LEARNING?

Purpose: Even though there are numerous attempts of clarifying crucial factors for successfully implementing technological changes in organizations, research shows that such processes very often are considered unsuccessful (e.g. Dwivedi et al., 2015). Recruiting and using so-called super users when introducing new technology in organizations, has become a common trend (Sitthidah & St-Mauritz, 2016). However, little is known about the criteria that optimally should ground the specifics for choosing a super user. From a safety aspect, having well founded process on how a super user should teach staff how to use new technology, is of utterly importance, as wrong understanding of how it works could potentially have fatal outcome. Research question: Which criteria should be emphasized when selecting super users? Method: 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The results were that criteria for super users should be (1) availability and local knowledge (2) technological skills (3) pedagogical skills), and (4) proactiveness. Conclusion: Based on a safety aspect, recruiting a super user internally would help provide the important understanding of local knowledge. Further, recruiting internal staff would provide learning on an organizational level. This is demonstrated by a model called the organization’s eco-system of learning (Ecso-Learn).