Building knowledge-based economies: research projects in knowledge management and knowledge transfer

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are viewed as the growth engines of the new knowledgebased economy. This new economic growth model differs from the old in significant ways, many of which are related to the knowledge base that will be required by the SMEs. Based upon prior research a set of factors important to the success of SMEs in a knowledge-based economy is described. Focusing on those factors related to the knowledge base, the paper concludes with a set of research questions and brief descriptions of three research projects on knowledge management and knowledge transfer

Knowledge management in projects

Knowledge Transfer in Project-based Organizations has been recognized as productivity and economic growth promoters that are currently not properly managed. Therefore, it is critical to investigate the importance of knowledge regarding its acquisition, use and transfer across all departments of an organization. The main objective of this work was to evaluate how modern organizations from different business sectors manage and share their knowledge by following the Knowledge Management and Transfer Life-Cycles when developing their projects. Organizational surveys were performed to employees working in project management within Portuguese organizations (or with representation in Portugal,) from multiple business sectors and holding different hierarchical positions. The present study revealed that most Companies can identify, capture and retain the relevant knowledge, and apply it to the development of other projects. However, the steps corresponding to the transfer of knowledge between collaborators within the organization and to the evaluation/review of the benefit generated by the transferred knowledge are not being followed. The inexistence of a Project department or a team dedicated to projects within the organization seems to be limiting the effectiveness of knowledge management and transfer.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Loosing it: Knowledge Management in Tourism Development Projects

Knowledge management and the development of the destination’s capacity of the intellectual skills needed to use tourism as an effective tool in the search for regeneration and development are central themes explored within this paper. The authors have lived and worked with the problems inherent in short term funding of special projects designed to achieve or facilitate tourism development. We have witnessed with growing sadness the results – and the lack of them – as funding cycles end and staff with experience move away. Development processes require multi-stakeholder involvement at all levels, bringing together governments, NGOs, residents, industry and professionals in a partnership that determines the amount and kind of tourism that a community wants (Sirakaya et al., 2001). Planners need to provide knowledge sharing mechanisms to residents, visitors, industry and other stakeholders in order to raise public and political awareness. We note an absence of literature relating to the capacity of communities to learn from short-term funded projects that inherently are destined to provide a strategic blueprint for destination development and in most cases regeneration through community-based tourism action.Knowledge management, sharing and embedding, community tourism

Knowledge management in development projects

The effective management of knowledge is now recognised as a vehicle through which the construction industry can address its need for innovation and improved business performance. The failure to capture and transfer project knowledge, which is usually buried in unread reports and arcane filing systems, or lost because people move on, leads to the increased risk of ‘reinventing the wheel’, wasted activity, and impaired project performance. Knowledge is therefore considered vital in creating competitive advantage in the new economy. Much of the growth in many global firms has been credited to knowledge, as new technologies and innovations are applied to the market and workplace. Knowledge management is therefore increasingly seen as an integral part of an organization’s competitive strategy as it facilitates continuous improvement through learning and innovation. This is now increasingly recognised by most sectors of industry, with many organisations appointing a Knowledge Manager or Business Improvement Manager, with responsibility for articulating and implementing the organisation’s knowledge management strategy. This paper argues that knowledge management is equally important in development projects and advocates the application of knowledge management practices to these projects. It introduces the key phases in knowledge management (creation, storage, sharing, modification, etc.) and explores how these can be implemented in development projects. The application of knowledge management to development projects is expected to result in numerous benefits including the transfer of lessons learned from one project to another, improved transfer of knowledge between developed countries and developing countries, and better management of human resources. This paper starts with a review of key knowledge management concepts, and outlines some of the characteristics of development projects. It then discusses the potential for knowledge management in development projects and concludes with a summary of the practical benefits to be gained

Why New Business Development Projects Fail: Coping with the Differences of Technological versus Market Knowledge

Managing through projects has become important for generating new knowledge to cope with technological and market discontinuities. This paper examines how the fit between the creation of technological and market knowledge and important project management characteristics, i.e. project autonomy and completion criteria, influences the success of new business development (NBD) projects. In-depth longitudinal case research on NBD-projects commercialised during the period 1993-2003 in the consumer electronics industry highlights that project management characteristics focusing only on the creation of technological knowledge contributed to the failure of those NBD-projects that required new market knowledge as well. The findings indicate that senior management support and engaging in an alliance with partners possessing complementary market knowledge can offset this misalignment of the organisation of NBD-projects.new product development;project management;strategic alliances;knowledge;new business development;exploitation-exploration;sales force

Knowledge management: Using a knowledge requirements framework to enhance UK health sector supply chains

The gaps of mismatch both knowledge and understanding of beneficiaries and solution providers at the initial stage of developing projects have led to the failures of many projects including supply chains (SC) and related information technology systems (ITS) projects (Lyytinen and Hirschheim, 1987) . The aims of this paper are first, to address theoretical framework by bridging the gaps of different types of knowledge. Second, to establishing business requirements and the flow of information in supply chains between beneficiaries and solution providers in the long and complicated supply chains of the UK’s Health Sector. On the basis of brief introduction to knowledge, knowledge management and supply chain, the paper presents a practical framework that has been developed through critical and relevant literatures in the above three subject areas. Techniques and Tools stem from both management science and information systems were used to provide a possible solution for the problem in bridging the gaps of mismatch knowledge and understanding at the initial stage of identifying requirements in projects through knowledge sharing and transfer

The relationships between foreign loans and development project management in the experience of the Loans Control Division of the Department of Highways in Thailand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North Campus, New Zealand

Appendix B in Thai languageThis study is concerned with the relationships between foreign loans and development project management. The main focus of the study is to investigate factors that undermine the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of loan projects in the experience of the Loans Control Division of the Department of Highways in Thailand. The emphasis is on road projects funded through foreign loan schemes because roads are one main infrastructure that requires never-ending financial support, with little or no direct cost recovery. When partly financed with loan monies, road projects also add to the burden of debt repayment for the nation. Thus, one essential objective in implementing road projects is to minimize investments cost by delivering a well-managed project. As loan projects have unique characteristics and require particular management skills, a comprehensive study of the experience of the Loan Control Division will help to reveal solutions to improve the effective and efficient management of other loan projects. The findings suggest that the Loans Control Division is presently facing three main factors that create a hostile environment for the management of loan projects. They are: the differences between local regulations and foreign guidelines; an unsupported working environment and the lack of knowledge and skills. These factors reflect a lack of understanding of loan projects at both national and personal levels. At the national level, it is evident in this study that the merger in the 1990s of local regulations for local projects with those for local projects was based on an ignorance of the requirement to have specific regulations that are compatible with foreign loan guidelines and which support the management of loan projects. At the personal level, the study suggests that the majority of the respondents need specific knowledge and particular skills to help them carry out their work efficiently. Proper orientation and training is inadequate and the knowledge and experience of individuals has not yet been transferred to the organization. It is therefore recommended that to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of loan projects, it is essential to take the unique characteristics of each loan project into account and to provide necessary resources, such as an in-house orientation and training programmes, a good working and learning environment, and a handbook or manual for work procedures

Losing IT: knowledge management in development projects

Knowledge management and the development of the destination’s capacity of the intellectual skills needed to use tourism as an effective tool in the search for regeneration and development are central themes explored within this paper. The authors have lived and worked with the problems inherent in short term funding of special projects designed to achieve or facilitate tourism development. We have witnessed with growing sadness the results – and the lack of them – as funding cycles end and staff with experience move away. Development processes require multi-stakeholder involvement at all levels, bringing together governments, NGOs, residents, industry and professionals in a partnership that determines the amount and kind of tourism that a community wants (Sirakaya et al., 2001). Planners need to provide knowledge sharing mechanisms to residents, visitors, industry and other stakeholders in order to raise public and political awareness. We note an absence of literature relating to the capacity of communities to learn from short-term funded projects that inherently are destined to provide a strategic blueprint for destination development and in most cases regeneration through community-based tourism action

Knowledge management in project-base organizations: the interplay of time orientations and knowledge interventions

The common perception is that all types of work and work organizations appear to involve knowledge: knowledge intensive work, knowledge workers, knowledge products, customerrelated knowledge and knowledge intensive organizations. Therefore, as organizations increasingly organize their activities in the form of projects, effective ways of knowledge management are needed to deliver successful and timely outcomes. However, little research has been done in the area that integrates time orientations into the process of knowledge management. Using the approach of grounded theory, this paper investigates the interplay between time orientations and knowledge interventions through interviews with international project managers drawn from different types of project-based organizations in Sweden and Italy. The perceptions and experiences of the managers are used to construct a model of time orientation and knowledge interventions in project-based organizations. Time orientations are shown to play a critical role in the success or failure of projects. The model integrates time orientations into the project life cycle and illustrates how effectively knowledge interventions can be used to achieve project milestones and meet overall deadlines

Building dynamic capabilities in product development: the role of knowledge management

This paper contributes to the clarification of the connections between knowledge management and dynamic capabilities in the context of product development to see how they explain product development competences. Building on the knowledge management and dynamic capabilities literatures, the paper argues that the social side of knowledge management has a role to play as enabler of dynamic capabilities in the context of product development. Further, dynamic capabilities shape product development competences. Empirical evidence is provided by performing survey research with data collected from 80 product development projects developed in Spain.Capabilities , Knowledge management, Organizational knowledge