Zin, I N M and Egbu, C (2011) The significance of knowledge sharing approaches in Malaysian construction organisations. In: Egbu, C and Lou, E C W (eds.) Proceedings of 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2011, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
Few would argue with the principle that the sharing of relevant knowledge is important. But the significance of knowledge sharing in the Malaysian construction industries has received little or no consideration. Perceptions of Malaysian practitioners, in terms of formal and informal approaches to knowledge sharing in construction organisations are discussed in this paper. This is based on a study which combines qualitative and quantitative research methods including a literature review, semi structured interviews and questionnaire survey involving small, medium and large construction organisations in Malaysia. A total of 384 completed questionnaires were returned and 28 semi- structured interviews were conducted with practitioners at different levels of management. This paper highlights the results from the questionnaire survey only. The findings indicate that all participants are of the view that knowledge sharing makes a significant contribution towards the improvement of organisational performance. Understanding the effectiveness of formal and informal approaches to knowledge sharing may assist construction organisations in taking full advantage of the improvement in organisation performance.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | culture; HR practices; knowledge sharing; organisational structure |
| Index terms: | survey, knowledge sharing, literature review, organizational structure, quantitative research, construction organization, Malaysia, interview, large construction organization, construction industry, practitioner, effectiveness, questionnaire, organizational performance |
| Subjects: | economic analysis, knowledge management, data analysis and analytics, practitioner, organization, data collection methods, industry analysis, sociology, Geography, performance management, performance measurement |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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