Knowledge management in construction organisations in Australia using social network analysis: a research framework

Abstract

The project-based settings in construction hinder the transfer of knowledge from one project to a future project. Hence, new knowledge created within construction projects should need to pass to the organisation level and then be shared at the organisation level and transferred to other projects. Previous research had found that construction project knowledge is more likely to be disseminated through networks of strong personal relationships. Hence, it is important to build and maintain strong networks within construction organisations to enable wider dissemination of project knowledge. However, little is known on how such networks exist in construction organisations in Australia. Social network analysis provides a method of analysing network patterns. Using social network analysis as a tool for the study of construction management issues has grown considerably in the past decades. However, there have been limited attempts to incorporate social network analysis into the study of knowledge management networks in the construction industry. By using social network analysis, this research aims to identify and measure the key social networks that disseminate project knowledge within construction organisations, through several case studies. In this paper, the literature findings are presented with the proposed research methods. The literature review findings revealed that the organisational structural capital nurtured through network ties and their configuration would effectively enable the project knowledge dissemination process within construction organisations and these could be effectively identified using social network analysis. The literature findings finally led to the development of a research framework. Future research will use this method on an empirical phase.