MANAGING KNOWLEDGE WITHIN THE LEADING IRISH CONSTRUCTION ORGANISATIONS: CURRENT PRACTICES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Despite the benefits which knowledge management (KM) can bring to construction organisations there appears to be a lack of understanding in relation to both knowledge and its management in practice. In the context of Irish construction, both Engineers Ireland (EI), and the Construction Information Technology Alliance (CITA) have identified KM as important to the future competitiveness of the industry. The findings of interviews with senior management from ten of the leading Irish construction organisations are presented, having been selected as they are perceived to possess the most advanced organisational processes. Three ontological dimensions were explored; individual, project and organisational, with a view to identifying current approaches to managing knowledge. The findings confirm that these organisations lack a proper understanding of KM, yet recognise the need for a more structured, coherent approach. The paper proposes the establishment of a strategic framework to improve the understanding of KM within the leading organisations, through a collaborative approach between academia, industry, EI and CITA. A central feature of this framework will be the development of a KM model which will be evaluated by participating organisations for its practicality.