Ruan, X; Ochieng, E G; Price, A D F and Egbu, C O (2012) Knowledge integration process in construction projects: A social network analysis approach to compare competitive and collaborative working. Construction Management and Economics, 30(1), pp. 5-19. ISSN 1466433X
Abstract
Research on knowledge integration across organizational boundaries is still very limited because of the assumption that knowledge is a critical asset, which should be secured within organizational boundaries. A variety of knowledge management frameworks have presented the same common characteristics, including information sharing as the basis for knowledge management, a supportive culture, trust and proximity. Social network analysis is used to examine the knowledge integration process in collaborative and competitive working systems on four case study projects based on public sector organizations. This involved shadowing participants and conducting interviews. Participants were selected from a set of functional teams according to their role. Five participants were interviewed from each project in order to check the validity and reliability of the data. The knowledge integration patterns are presented by quantitative methods using the social network analysis approach.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | collaborative working; competitive working; knowledge integration process; knowledge management; social network analysis |
| Index terms: | quantitative method, social network analysis, case study, validity, information sharing, interview, organizational boundary, construction project, knowledge integration, public sector organization, knowledge management |
| Subjects: | data exchange, professional development, production management, data analysis and analytics, evaluation and assessment methods, administrative law, research methods, data collection methods, sociology |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Research Practice, Digital Applications, Project Management, Legal Issues, Information Management |
| 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