KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONALS IN NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION FIRMS: BARRIERS, BENEFITS AND CAPABILITIES

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) is central to the performance of construction firms. KM has been found to be beneficial in companies in terms of quality, time, speed and reliability. The creation and diffusion of knowledge to the professionals in construction firm have become increasingly important factors in competitiveness, as most construction firm professionals pay insufficient attention to KM awareness and capabilities. This study aimed to assess the KM capabilities among professionals in Nigerian construction firms. The study adopted a quantitative research approach by eliciting primary data through structured questionnaire. One hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were administered and 92 were retrieved and considered for further analysis. The data obtained were analysed using mean item score (MIS) and charts. The study revealed the three major barriers to KM implementation to be; cultural barriers (MIS = 4.90; SD = 0.32), lack of time (MIS = 4.60; SD = 0.52) and trying to solve large problems (MIS = 4.50; SD = 0.71). This study also discovered the main benefit of KM implementation to be enabling better and faster decision making (MIS = 4.71; SD = 0.47). Lastly, it was revealed that most construction professionals do not embrace creativity in KM. This study however recommends that: stakeholders of the construction industry should be encouraged to embrace cultural diversity; construction firms should pay keen attention to time management and development of appropriate methodology that will foster knowledge management implementation; professional bodies should collaborate with government parastatals and construction firms to train professionals on knowledge management; government should introduce policies and framework that will support knowledge management implementation; and construction professionals should embrace the concept of creativity in knowledge management.

Keywords: Construction firms, construction professionals, knowledge management capabilities, knowledge management.