Knowledge Management in the Construction Project Environment

The construction industry, wherein the highest capital investment is drawn up at the construction stage, is one intensely competitive business with a high risk and low profit margin. Currently, the construction industry still encounters the consequences of construction delays, cost overruns and delivery failures (Beatham et. al., 2004). Issues of controversy have been on means of improving the construction industry from a less productive and poorly organized set-up to a fully effective and yet remain highly competitive. The use of knowledge in organizations has been increasingly seen as a basis for enhancing a competitive advantage (Krogh et. al., 2000; Goh, 2002, Carrillo, 2004). The challenges therefore lie in the means of managing knowledge resources and capabilities, contributing to project success and sustained organizational competitiveness.

In Thailand and other developing countries, construction projects have inadequate and ineffective control strategies towards project management problems. The operational modes of contractors are mainly based on sole ownership, headed by entrepreneurs lacking efficient expertise in construction management. Evidently, the most important factor inhibiting the successful completion of a construction project is the scarcity of skilled personnel at all levels of construction personnel especially supervisors (Ofori 1985; Imbert 1990; Mackenzie et al., 2000). However, most owners do not want to incur expenditures on employing qualified professionals to compliment and enhance management competency.

Mr. Wasan Teerajetgul made a case study to examine the key knowledge influencing factors (individual and organizational factors) and the knowledge creation process that affects construction project team creativity, and his research mainly focused on the practice of knowledge management in Thai construction projects at the on-site work level. The following are his specific objectives to: (1) identify knowledge factors influencing on-site construction; (2) examine the current practice of knowledge factors in association with the knowledge creation process and project team creativity during the course of on-site construction; (3) examine the influence of key knowledge factors and the knowledge creation process on project team creativity; and (4) propose improved mechanisms of knowledge creation process for on-site construction.

In his analyses, he identified the knowledge factors influencing on-site construction works using Varimax rotation. These analytical techniques showed that that there are six important knowledge factors with 36 items under each. These knowledge factors are: 1) visionary leadership, 2) reward or incentive, 3) collaboration, 4) trust, 5) information technology, and 6) individual competency or skills. Analyses of components of the knowledge creation process revealed that a total of 21 items are under the four dimensions of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization.

The results of the study showed that majority of respondents tend to mostly rate their assessment between somewhat and agree on the scale of measurement. This could be attributed to respondent’s particular reluctance to disclose negative perceptions about knowledge management practices. As peculiar to the Thai culture, Thais are generally hesitant to openly critique others and issues of concern.

IT support has the largest effect and uniquely contributed to the knowledge creation process. Such result automatically reflects the complexity of engineering knowledge that requires rich technology applications such as the use of 3D simulations. IT allows construction engineers to retrieve critical information, incorporate information with their experiences and enhance additional opportunities to create new concepts by sharing knowledge and techniques with each other. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) argued that the IT networks have proved to be a limited means for disseminating tacit knowledge. They address the added importance of human networks than IT networks.

Experience provides individuals with the opportunity to create knowledge through trial-and-error learning. Experience also affects individuals’ ability or competency to transfer knowledge (Argote et al., 2003). Individual competency is a set of skills, related knowledge, and attributes that allow an individual to perform a task or an activity within the scope of a specific function or job.

The results also showed that there is a significant influence of the overall knowledge creation process on project team creativity. In this study, if each part of the knowledge creation process is perceived as mutually exclusive, then only internalization comes into the limelight. Internalization significantly affects project team creativity. Schonstrom (2005) discussed that when knowledge is transferred, it is suggested that knowledge has to be first internalized by the receiving individual before it can be used. The internalized learning through problem-solving facilitated construction engineers in becoming experts and therefore they could use existing knowledge to create products, stimulate innovations and creativity in addition to much more. The results explain that internalization is the process whereby one increases knowledge by learning from external events such as work and apprenticeship.

Contribution to Practice
This research established evidence on how construction project teams adopted the knowledge creation process to improve its project performance. Thai construction managers are seen to place emphasis individual competency or tacit knowledge. Their flexible thoughts and engineering techniques were elements of tacit knowledge fundamental to foster knowledge management and creativity. The strength of knowledge management rests on the vision and aspiration of construction managers in applying creativity in on-site knowledge practices. By having appropriate and attractive incentives, competent project teams were brought in to utilize and generate new knowledge in the form of problem solving. In order to make knowledge visible, the competency in using IT to convert conceptual ideas and package knowledge into obvious activities must be inherent. IT is seen to facilitate the knowledge creation process by capturing knowledge in real time and thereafter, making it accessible for future use. IT greatly benefits construction projects in that it speeds up the project team’s decision making process and thus shortens the product life cycle. The knowledge creation process is seen to facilitate the improvement of project performance. In conclusion, successful execution of construction projects requires that project managers to consider the above-mentioned three important factors.

Contribution to Research
The following are summarized contributions of this research to the body of knowledge in construction projects at large.

1. This study establishes the new instrument for measuring knowledge factors, knowledge creation, and project team creativity in Thai construction.
2. The study provides opportunity to facilitate and to manage the key knowledge factors identified and knowledge creative environment for improving competitive advantage.
3. The research proposes improved mechanisms of knowledge creation that will generate effective practices in a construction project environment, for example, fostering knowledge sharing culture (employee exchange knowledge as standard operating procedure), providing knowledge vision, platform or community of practice, and knowledge process, and knowledge delegation etc.
4. These improved mechanisms can be applied at all levels of construction organizations that need to improve its knowledge management process.

His thesis abstract is copied and posted.

Abstract

The research focuses on the practice of knowledge management practice in Thai construction projects at on-site work level with the objectives as follows: 1) to identify knowledge factors including individual and organizational factors influencing on-site construction execution; 2) to examine the current practice status of knowledge factors in association with knowledge creation process and project team creativity; 3) to examine the influences of key knowledge factors and knowledge creation process on project team creativity; and 4) to propose an improving mechanism of knowledge creation process at on-site construction.

The design of this research is cross-sectional and uses a blended methodological approach of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research model includes the following variables: a) six knowledge factors: vision of leadership, trust, collaboration, incentives, Information Technology (IT) support, and individual competencies, b) four knowledge creation processes: socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization, and c) team creativity

At the beginning stage, the qualitative method using focus-group interviews is used due to the novel nature of knowledge management practice in Thai construction. This method helps the researcher to obtain some rich data. The quantitative method is used when exploring the effects of the knowledge factors, the knowledge creation process, on the project team creativity. Then, the study results are verified through the qualitative method by using a case study again.

Survey data from 70 construction projects in Thai construction firms, obtained in second stage by means of a questionnaire developed by the researcher, were collated and analyzed. As a means of testing the model, regression analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. Consistent with previous empirical evidence, three knowledge factors affected the knowledge creation process: incentives, IT, and individual competencies. It was noted that these factors overlay the knowledge creation process at all execution stages of on-site construction. In other, only internalization of knowledge creation process affected project team creativity. It was presented that construction members had focused largely on managers’ conception as individual.
This research is expected to contribute to a better understanding of important knowledge factors and knowledge management research in Thai construction which is still at an infancy stage. In order to build a knowledge creative culture, construction project executives need to support and maximize the value of human assets (individual competencies). Furthermore, facilitating IT-supported knowledge management in construction projects needs to be considered and emphasized needs to be placed on productive work and gain a competitive advantage.