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Contribution of knowledge management activities to organisational business performance

Le Chen (Griffith School of Engineering Griffith University, Southport, Australia)
Sherif Mohamed (Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Management, Griffith School of Engineering Griffith University, Southport, Australia)

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology

ISSN: 1726-0531

Article publication date: 10 October 2008

1464

Abstract

Purpose

Within the construction industry there is a growing awareness of the need for linking knowledge management (KM) to business strategy, organisational objectives and existing performance measures. This study was undertaken within the context of construction organisations, and attempts to provide the empirical evidence about the relationships between KM activities and organisational business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of construction contractors operating in Hong Kong to investigate the opinions of construction professionals regarding the intensity of KM activities and business performance within their organisations. In parallel to the survey, semi‐structured interviews were undertaken to provide qualitative insights that helped to clarify and deepen understanding of the KM process within the context of the research target.

Findings

The investigation shows that knowledge utilisation is the strongest contributor to general business performance. In addition, the impact of KM activities on the lagging performance indicators of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), such as “financial performance”, is in an indirect manner, and through the leading indicators such as performance from “internal process” as well as “learning and growth” perspectives.

Originality/value

The study empirically establishes the linkage between intensity of KM activities and business performance, and demonstrates that KM strategies need to be explicitly formulated and measured according to organisational business objectives.

Keywords

Citation

Chen, L. and Mohamed, S. (2008), "Contribution of knowledge management activities to organisational business performance", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 269-285. https://doi.org/10.1108/17260530810918289

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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