Assessing the impact of knowledge management on the performance of Ghanaian Construction firms
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Date
2021-07-07
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Abstract
Most construction firms value the goals of improving on their projects in relation to the duration
of work to be done and cost of the works. Failure to achieve this set goals can instigate negative
effects in the likes of increasing the cost of project, projects running behind schedule and loss
of productivity, therefore, contributing to the poor performance of the construction firms. The
practice of knowledge management (knowledge acquired from previous experiences) is said to
promote or improve organisational innovation, business performance, client satisfaction and
the duration in project execution. Therefore, this study sought to assess the impact of firms
applying knowledge management on the performance of construction firms in Ghana. This aim
necessitated three objectives: to examine the effects of knowledge management on
performance of Ghanaian construction firms, to identify experts expectations of knowledge
management in the construction firms, and to examine the methods of knowledge, transfer in
the construction firms. To this end, a great deal of extant literature was reviewed at depth. This
research adopted a case study of three (3) selected construction firms within the Greater Accra
region, the Accra metropolis to be precise. The quantitative approach was employed in this
study, utilizing well-structured questionnaires which were administered to 60 respondents. The
study uncovered increase in client satisfaction, increase in organisational revenue, reduction in
time and cost of solving problems and also increase in quality service as the significant positive
effects of knowledge management on firm’s performance. Also, the critical negative effects of
knowledge management on firms’ performance were identified as time constraint, high cost of
knowledge management implementation, difficulties in knowledge extraction, and lack of
organisational culture. This study will provide a guiding framework for construction firms
within the construction industry to effectively incorporate knowledge management practices
into their business activities. The study therefore recommends that, management must be
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efficient in their transfer of knowledge and to ensue technological input in the effective
management of knowledge in order to boost their performance.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Construction Technology and Management,
College of Art and Built Environment
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of
Master of Science.
Keywords
Effects, Construction, Ghana, Knowledge Management