Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management

Purpose – The complexity of knowledge in architectural design results in its unique management characteristics not being fully recognized and appreciated. Little research has been done in this area. This paper aims to bridge this knowledge gap.

Design/methodology/approach – A multiple-case study methodology is applied to identify the knowledge sharing pattern in architectural design institutes in the People's Republic of China. Content analysis is employed to analyse the qualitative data collected by in-depth interview, site observation and document review.

Findings – The results show that individual architects share their own knowledge by means of reflection-in-action, conversation and problem solving. Either formal or informal mentoring, legitimate peripheral participation, communities of practice and workshops are the major mechanisms for architectural design institutes to share organizational knowledge but the knowledge sharing pattern are quite different for different kinds of architectural design institutes.

Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of this research is associated with sample selection. Although the cases being selected are fairly representative of the architectural design institutes in People's Republic of China, not all types of architectural design institutes are included due to the availability of data.

Practical implications – The identified knowledge sharing patterns can help managers of architectural design institutes as well as individual architects to better understand how knowledge is shared in their field and how to improve their overall performance.

Originality/value – This paper contributes to the existing body of research on how knowledge is shared in the construction industry. In particular, a knowledge sharing pattern is identified to offer insights in architectural design institutes in China. The paper addresses a number of research questions which are not fully explored in current literature.