From the wide range of human needs which may motivate information seeking,
Wilson identified those which arise from work roles as being most likely to be relevant
to the specialised, or formal, information systems with which the information sciences
have traditionally been concerned. He urged that studies should include a specific
consideration of the organisational and cultural environment in which the work role
was performed. Vakkari (1997) pointed to Wilson’s article as recommending an
approach, which remained largely unadopted by the late 1990s. (It is ironic to consider
that the sub-branch of the information science, which has most enthusiastically
adopted organisational and cultural perspectives, is knowledge management, about
which Wilson (2002c) has written in less than complimentary terms.)