Hayles, C and Egbu, C (2004) Will the knowledge management specialist please stand up! Experiences from the UK construction industry and beyond. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 20th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2004, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
Recent research undertaken within the UK construction industry has revealed a growth in the appointment of knowledge management specialists in response to two principal drivers: the UK government's prerequisite to achieve industry-wide improvements and the desire of individual organisations to seek competitive advantage. Interviews with twenty knowledge management specialists from across the construction sector reveal various spheres of activity, frequently dependent on the knowledge management specialists' background and training. In common is a desire to exchange and manage knowledge better (whether internally or externally derived) through the introduction of new and innovative ways of creating, securing, distributing and retrieving knowledge using IT tools and better person-to-person communication. In this paper the authors examine the skills and attributes that currently make for a successful knowledge management practitioner within the UK construction industry. In addition the authors compare the results of this research with previous research undertaken in other sectors over the past five years and identify where they believe organisations operating within the construction industry can learn from other sectors to improve dialogue and facilitate the advantages of enhanced communication.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | communication; knowledge management; skills and attributes; training |
| Index terms: | knowledge management, construction sector, construction industry, practitioner, competitive advantage, interview |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, market analysis, professional development, practitioner, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Information Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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