Knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in South Africa

Authors

  • Alfred Talukhaba University of the Witwatersrand
  • Adekunle Taiwo University of the Witwatersrand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v16i1.169

Keywords:

Knowledge management, Project management, Performance measurement

Abstract

Knowledge management is concerned with the development and exploitation of the knowledge assets of an organisation, with a view to furthering the organisation’s objectives. The vital role that knowledge management processes play in the performance of business organisations has been the basis of several studies - a number of companies operating in various other industries have proven the need for, and performance enhancing benefits of, adopting knowledge management processes in one form or another. Taking these accounts into consideration, this article attempted to test the hypothesis that effective knowledge management use would constitute a performance enhancing tool in construction project management enterprise in South Africa. The research survey was thus carried out among registered professional construction project managers in South Africa. The levels of awareness and use of knowledge management systems among construction project management professionals in South Africa was analysed. This revealed a mostly ‘medium to high’ level of awareness and use. However, the Project Efficiency Review (PER) approach to performance measurement showed limited correlation between knowledge management use and enhanced performance in construction project performance. Other performance measurement approaches such as Metrics, Economic and Market Value also showed limited correlation. Two causative factors for this situation are construction project scope changes and schedule delays, which are seemingly pervasive in contemporary South Africa. As such, further research is recommended to establish more appropriate ‘objective’ performance measurement approaches that would be able to accommodate these complexities. This would facilitate the making of a business case for knowledge management use in construction project management.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

##submission.downloads##

Published

2009-06-30

How to Cite

Talukhaba, A. and Taiwo, A. (2009) “Knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in South Africa”, Acta Structilia, 16(1), pp. 33–64. doi: 10.38140/as.v16i1.169.

Issue

Section

Research articles