Wethyavivorn, P and Teerajetgul, W (2020) Tacit knowledge capture in Thai design and consulting firms. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 25(1), pp. 45-62. ISSN 1823-6499
Abstract
Tacit knowledge in the construction industry is essential in the development and innovation of the operation. It also helps improve the built environment in the communities. The purpose of this research was to develop an effective process to capture tacit knowledge gained from project operations. To understand the complex processes happening within the firms in the Thai construction industry, an action research approach was adopted. Two well-established design and consulting firms participated in the study. After two iterations of action research, the four-stage process of tacit knowledge capture was proposed: (1) develop the firm's strategic knowledge containers, (2) reflect on past project experiences, (3) identify project learning and new knowledge and (4) validate and test new knowledge. It was emphasised that a firm should put significant effort in identifying the strategic knowledge and capabilities required in order to establish the knowledge containers which were clearly understood by all staff. Once the new knowledge had been tested, validated and accumulated in the knowledge containers, it would change the operations in the subsequent projects. The process should be conducted at the end of the project to allow sufficient time required for reflection of knowledge attained during the project operation.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | action research; construction industry; consulting firms; knowledge capture; project knowledge; tacit knowledge |
| Index terms: | built environment, reflection, project knowledge, construction industry, action research, knowledge capture, tacit knowledge |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, knowledge management, professional development, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, 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