Developing an Integrated Model for Understanding Knowledge Management Practices in an Arab Country

Author(s):  
Minwir Al-Shammari

This chapter seeks to develop a model for understanding Knowledge Management (KM) practice in an Arab socio-economic context. To achieve the objectives of the study, a conceptual KM model was proposed and described; it was then illustrated using a case study. The chapter adopts a case study approach as a powerful source of understanding the KM specificities. Twelve interviews were conducted with executives of a telecommunications company, and then were systemically analyzed. Based on the findings of the study, a profile of KM in an Arab country is developed as well as a holistic and integrative KM model. The final model concludes with a proposed a three-layer KM model. The first layer includes KM drivers (market liberalization, technological advancements, and customers’ preferences); the second includes KM processes (knowledge strategizing, sourcing, composing, sharing, and using), whereas the third layer includes KM enablers (KM buying behavior, convergence of business and technology, source-data quality, project championship, process-based structure, and sharing culture). However, the proposed model requires further testing through conducting more case studies to be able to capture the best practice of KM in this important region.

Author(s):  
Izaskun Alvarez ◽  
Ernesto Cilleruelo ◽  
Ibon Zamanillo ◽  
Enara Zarrabeitia

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 1650003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Ejehiohen Iyawa

Software development (SD) companies employ, train and provide software developers with the platform to improve their skills. Unfortunately, these investments are lost when a software developer resigns from the company or is not physically available to carry out work activities. This is a major problem experienced in Namibian SD companies. This paper investigates how knowledge is transferred and retained by software developers in Namibian SD companies. Using a case study approach, five software developers were purposively selected from five software companies in the city of Windhoek, Namibia. Data were collected using structured interviews. The findings revealed that Namibian SD companies do not have a formal knowledge management (KM) strategy in place, management is not involved in KM practices and experienced software developers are not willing to participate in the KM process as a result of job insecurities. The findings also revealed that knowledge gaps are created in Namibian SD companies when an experienced software developer resigns from the company, and this consequently hampers the SD process. Based on the findings, the study therefore proposes a knowledge management framework (KMF) for Namibian SD companies, which incorporates the needs of each software developer as well as the needs of the SD company to create an effective KM for Namibian SD companies. The KMF for Namibian SD companies were presented to five experts in the field of Software Engineering. The experts validated the KMF for Namibian SD companies and found it useful within the context of Namibian SD companies. The KMF for Namibian SD companies is expected to improve the way KM processes are carried out in Namibian software companies, providing a realistic approach to improving KM practices.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serdar Kale ◽  
A. Erkan Karaman

Knowledge management is rapidly becoming a key organizational capability for creating competitive advantage in the construction industry. The emergence of knowledge management in this capacity poses enormous challenges to executives of construction firms. This paper proposes a model for benchmarking those knowledge management practices of AEC firms that can guide and assist construction business executives in meeting these challenges. The proposed model incorporates benchmarking and knowledge management concepts with importance-performance analysis (IPA) maps. It is a simple visual tool that can provide powerful diagnostic information to executives of AEC firms by evaluating their firm's knowledge management practices, identifying their firm's comparative advantages and disadvantages with regard to each knowledge management practice, and setting priorities for managerial actions related to knowledge management practices that need improvement. A real-world case study is presented to illustrate the implementation and utility of the proposed model.


10.28945/3607 ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 331-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adebowale I Ojo

Universities have traditionally been leaders in the field of knowledge production, research, and societal development. They are expected to be drivers of innovation, thereby contributing to the development of a learning society. The array of challenges facing universities in Nigeria and other developing countries forces one to question their levels of innovation. While knowledge management has been identified as a strategy for driving innovative processes in business organizations, there is a paucity of literature on its application in Nigerian universities. This paper, therefore, proposes a conceptual model which Nigerian universities could adopt, in order to drive innovation and performance. As the paper is conceptual in nature, a literature survey was conducted to examine the concept of knowledge management and its application in higher education institutions. Findings from the literature informed the development of a conceptual model describing ways in which universities can adopt knowledge management practices and strategies in order to drive innovation and improve performance. The conceptual model proposed in this paper could serve as a basis for empirical investigations on knowledge management processes in universities. The paper concludes that, while knowledge management has the potential for improving performance within universities, the proposed model must be subjected to empirical validation for further amendments and improvements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parijat Upadhyay ◽  
Manas Paul

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework to understand and reflect upon issues, which can help in producing better industry-ready students graduating from business schools. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines research conducted in the area of knowledge management (KM) and proposes a conceptual framework that can be used by academic institutions to engage students and prepare them for industry needs so that they are better industry-ready graduates. A case study based approach has been adopted in this study. Findings In line with the literature-based analysis, a framework for better industry ready students has been proposed, illustrating the linkage between KM, learning from organization-based projects, industry feedback and inputs from international accreditation bodies in higher education. Originality/value This paper has provided a comprehensive framework that contributes to the understanding and refining the academic processes in a business school setting with the help of learning from academic KM process. Such a framework has not been previously developed by previous researchers.


2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaminda Pathirage ◽  
Richard Haigh ◽  
Dilanthi Amaratunga ◽  
David Baldry

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 38-48
Author(s):  
Devendra Adhikari

Unemployed youths in Nepal have been receiving vocational training through different projects with the support of international donor communities. Many of these projects simply meet their objectives by fulfilling the quotas of the training participants. There are some TVET projects in Nepal, which do not have priorities in sharing the learning and good practices that were gained during their implementation period due to the lack of Knowledge Management (KM) and disseminating mechanism. The purposes of this article are (i) to disseminate some activities and learnings gained by a Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) Project in Nepal which trained nearly 3000 youths from 2012-2016, and (ii) tracing out the importance of the KM practices in every TVET projects. This is a case study research in which secondary information such as the review of the project documents and the reflections of the author as a practitioner-scholar have been used as data. The findings of this research reveal that every TVET project in Nepal has gathered vast sources of knowledge and data. These learning will be beneficial to other forthcoming projects of similar nature. If these data and knowledge are shared among other TEVT project's, then huge financial resources of the state will also be saved. This research article could help us to consider about the importance of KM system in TVET projects.


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