Egbu, C O (2000) Knowledge management in construction SMEs: Coping with the issues of structure, culture, commitment and motivation. In: Akintoye, A (ed.) Proceedings of 16th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2000, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
There is an increasing acceptance that the economic and producing power of a modern organisation relies more on its intellectual and service capability than in its hard assets, such as land, plant and equipment. Effective knowledge management (KM) is seen as offering market leverage and competitive advantage to organisations. This paper addresses knowledge management issues in SMEs, with particular reference to the construction industry. It presents the major factors that influence effective knowledge management practices in SMEs and puts forward a framework for addressing KM issues in construction SMEs. Lessons to be learned for the construction industry are also presented. The paper highlights the importance of structure, culture, commitment and motivation as important variables in the effective management of organisational knowledge. It concludes that effective knowledge management in construction SMEs is not just about the supply side (data and communication systems) but also involves the demand side (business goals, strategy and people issues).
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction SMEs; knowledge management; organisational structure; culture |
| Index terms: | coping, plant and equipment, knowledge management, construction industry, land, organizational structure, competitive advantage, motivation, commitment, strategy |
| Subjects: | manufacturing engineering, management, professional development, market analysis, sociology, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, psychology, real estate economics |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Research Practice, Urban Studies, Human Resources, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 CT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here