Dimensions for the Help-seeking Process Relevant in Organizations

Abstract

In this survey study, we investigated dimensions relevant to the help-seeking process in organizations. A
theoretical framework was developed including two issues: First, dimensions correlating with the help-seeking process
including characteristics of the help-seeker, characteristics of the helper, organizational, contextual and technical
characteristics; and second, the help-seeking process with four steps, namely decision, identification, interaction, and
evaluation. Based on this model, a field survey study was conducted in order to detect correlations between them. Eighty
employees of an international biotechnology company were asked to fill-in a questionnaire on these aspects. Means of
all help-seeking dimensions were calculated and correlated with the four process steps. Results indicated that almost all
dimensions were related with diverse steps of the help-seeking process. This study shows for the first time important
correlations between theoretically relevant dimensions of help-seeking and the help-seeking process, which should be
taken more into account to improve the workflow.