Chen, L and Mohamed, S (2007) Empirical study of interactions between knowledge management activities. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 14(3), pp. 242-260. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose - Recent knowledge management (KM) literature suggests that KM activities are not independent of each other, rather they interact with each other to form a process which receives input from both external and internal business environments, and then produces new knowledge for future utilisation. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationships between KM activities within the construction business context in order to identify and map the pattern of their interactions. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of contracting organisations operating in Hong Kong to elicit opinions of construction professionals on the intensity of KM activities currently being executed by their organisations in order to facilitate knowledge capture, sharing and utilisation. More than 150 respondents from 99 organisations responded to the survey. Additionally, a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide a unique perspective on many of the challenges facing local construction organisations when dealing with KM activities. Findings - Knowledge acquisition and utilisation play paramount roles in the development of the organisational knowledge asset. The higher the intensity of these two activities, the larger the organisational knowledge pool which, in turn, demands greater knowledge dissemination capacity. This dissemination capacity enables more active and intense responses to market changes and clients' needs, thus facilitating and stimulating acquisition and utilisation of new tacit knowledge, thus improving organisational business performance. Originality/value - Interactions between KM activities were empirically investigated, from a strategic perspective, in the construction business context.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Hong Kong; knowledge management; tacit knowledge |
| Index terms: | construction professional, empirical study, knowledge acquisition, interaction, knowledge dissemination, construction organization, Hong Kong, acquisition, methodology, dissemination, questionnaire, business performance, tacit knowledge, knowledge capture, contracting organization, knowledge management, interview, survey |
| Subjects: | student development, behavioral psychology, performance measurement, research methods, Geography, professional development, knowledge translation, knowledge management, data collection methods, research dissemination and communication, business, organization, practitioner |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Quality Management, Education |
| 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