Managing Knowledge Assets in Project Environments (original) (raw)

Realising Value From Knowledge Assets: Empirical Study in Project Environment

This paper reports the results of an empirical test of a research model linking intellectual capital (IC) with project management (PM) in order to determine whether and how value from knowledge assets is being realised in a project environment. The proposed model included six interrelated components: project success as the ultimate targeted value and the project team as a human knowledge asset, the project customer as a relational knowledge asset and three project process steps ( planning, execution, verification) as structural knowledge assets associated with project success. The model was tested empirically in the context of information systems (IS) projects. Data were collected by a survey of 603 IS professionals across a variety of projects and were analysed through structural equation modelling. The results revealed an important mediating role of structural knowledge assets (three-step project process) in exploiting human (project team) and relational (project customer) knowledge assets for realising project value (project success). These findings provided several important implications for practice and opened up new opportunities for future research.

Managing through Projects in Knowledge-based Environments

Long Range Planning, 2008

Knowledge-based competitive advantage erodes if it is not continually refreshed. Organisations increasingly rely on projects to enhance their knowledge-base through specific project deliverables such as new products and technologies. But, to do this, projects must go beyond the specific deliverables for which they are designed, and also become sites and opportunities for the creation, mobilisation and integration of knowledge. In this article we argue that projects interact with the organisation's knowledge base primarily through three key activities: (a) by mobilising knowledge that is needed to meet project objectives; (b) by creating knowledge within and through the project; and (c) by integrating knowledge during the project. We further argue that these knowledge-related activities take place at multiple levels of the organisation. Specifically, they occur at the interorganisational level when multiple organisations work together, at the intraorganisational level where different functions and business units are called to support and collaborate on projects, at the interproject level where populations of projects share and exchange knowledge, and at the intraproject level where knowledge is bound up with team and leadership dynamics. We use examples from the Special Issue to illustrate different project-related knowledge activities and different organisational levels at which these activities take place. This analysis helps to illuminate the wider range of roles which projects may play in exploiting knowledge within and between firms. A number of practical implications flow from this analysis. We conclude with reflections on the evolution of projects as key sites for improving the competitive performance of the organisation.

Knowledge Management in Projects

International journal of knowledge management, 2021

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.

Critical factors for knowledge management in project business

Journal of Knowledge …, 2010

Project-based business is significantly growing in different sectors due to multiple advantages projects can offer. However, one major concerns of projects is being a temporary business with high possibilities of losing organizational knowledge, and greater difficulties in assuring teams' commitment, causing slowness in organizational learnability and capability to evolve and become more competitive. Therefore, many project-based organizations consider knowledge management initiatives to fill that gap. Nevertheless, many of such initiatives fail to deliver the expected results due to different failure factors and barriers, while others could be more successful due to a group of success factors and enablers. This article discusses a conceptual model consisted of six success factors that contribute to the overall success of KM initiatives in project-based organizations.

Knowledge management as a holistic tool for superior project management

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2010

The challenges encountered in project-based organisations have been addressed by many strategies. This paper intends to provide an empirical insight of knowledge and its application within project environs. This would instigate learning and innovation within Knowledge Management (KM) in project-based organisations. Based on two case studies, a simple understanding of knowledge, Knowledge Creation (KC) and its management are proposed. It further underlines the humanistic core of KM and a framework that can be utilised to align knowledge paths. Finally, the paper concludes with suggestions and recommendations for future research on KM in the realm of project management.