scholarly journals Knowledge management practices in the South African business sector: Preliminary findings of a longitudinal study

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Botha ◽  
B. Fouché
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
The South ◽  
Pilot Survey ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices

This article reports the findings of the first phase of a longitudinal research project on knowledge management (KM) practices in the South African business sector. The overall objectives of the research are to describe prevalent knowledge management practices, to identify patterns and trends, and to develop knowledge management benchmarking and strategic management tools for the business sector. During the first phase of the project a data collection and analysis instrument for a recurring survey of knowledge management practices was developed and verified. The statistical verification of the instrument was based on a pilot survey of seventy-four respondents representing fifty-three companies in the South African industry, using one-way analysis of variance, cross-tabular chi-squared tests and principal component analysis. The data collected during the pilot survey was considered to be sufficient for a first order analysis of KM practices. The survey tested respondent perceptions on six factors scored by aggregation from 24 indicators. The selection of the factors and indicators was based on a KM reference model developed for the purpose of the research. The findings indicated clear patterns of organisational performance related to the factors of the model. The patterns corroborated to a large extent the published findings of research on KM practices in industrialised countries. This provided the confidence to use the preliminary findings as the basis of hypotheses to guide the further phases of the project.

Indigenous Knowledge Management Practices in Indigenous Organizations in South Africa and Tanzania

2017 ◽  
pp. 181-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edda Tandi Lwoga ◽  
Patrick Ngulube ◽  
Christine Stilwell
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Indigenous Organizations ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Traditional Communities

Traditional communities have a highly developed knowledge system. They struggle, however, to lobby for critical issues as this knowledge is not documented. The chapter addresses this problem by seeking a suitable knowledge creation model for South African and Tanzanian indigenous organizations. It draws on fieldwork and reviews the literature and organizational websites. It applies Myer's seven C's model (2014) to determine how knowledge management may assist organizations in addressing challenges effectively. The findings demonstrate that Myers's model (2014) has been successful in part in explaining the knowledge management practices of indigenous organizations in these two countries. It is also difficult for indigenous organizations to motivate people to share knowledge because indigenous knowledge is individualized and used as a source of power, status and income in the communities. It is therefore important to promote integration of indigenous knowledge with other knowledge systems for socio-economic growth, and advocating change in institutional structures.

scholarly journals Towards the development of a knowledge management practices survey for application in knowledge intensive organisations

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Steyn ◽  
M. Kahn
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Various surveys of Knowledge Management Practices (KMPs) in private firms show how an increasing awareness of Knowledge Management (KM) is a critical determinant of an organisation’s competitiveness. While private sector strategies favouring internal knowledge sharing and external knowledge protection often provide strategic advantage, public sector research organisations such as South Africa’s science councils operate in an environment where, for reasons of wider public interest, transparency is encouraged and knowledge is rendered widely accessible. Unfortunately, however, little has been done to develop rigorous measurements of KMPs in such knowledge intensive organisations (KIOs) that primarily engage in knowledge intensive service activities. To complicate matters further, the majority of studies have been inter-organisational and multi-sectoral, focusing on large organisations in the private sector. Few studies have measured perceptions of KMPs amongst employees of a single organisation and even fewer have focused on KMPs within the public sector. This paper will discuss the theoretical and methodological approach used in the development of a survey aimed at measuring employee perceptions of KMPs within the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), one of South Africa’s largest public KIOs dedicated to ‘social science research that makes a difference.’ Principal component analysis of the survey data revealed six factors or constructs applicable to the measurement of KMPs. The results validate the survey instrument and offer a contribution toward the development of a KMP measurement instrument that may be applied across other KIOs in South Africa.

scholarly journals Knowledge management in project environments

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Pretorius ◽  
H. Steyn
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

Knowledge management is widely acclaimed to be a source of considerable financial advantage for organisations. Various authors realise that project environments could also benefit from the creation and re-use of knowledge, including from the lessons learned that should be documented during project close-out. Projects face specific challenges (limited time spans, changing and dispersed teams) and the reduction of project risk, time and cost through knowledge management, may well prove worthwhile.This paper reviews the literature on knowledge management, both in organisations in general and in project environments specifically. A framework for knowledge management is derived from literature. The paper also reports on an investigation of knowledge management practices in four cases within a single South African business environment. Knowledge management practices similar to ones reported abroad were found.A model is proposed for the management of knowledge in project environments, both within a single project (intraproject) and between projects (inter-project) and. guidelines for knowledge management in project environments are provided. It is also suggested that, while the management of explicit knowledge is common in project management, more attention should be given to the sharing of tacit knowledge through human interaction.

Knowledge Management Solution to Challenges of Higher Education in South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Mutula ◽  
Daisy Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Strategic Processes ◽  
External Pressures ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
State Subsidies

This article presents challenges facing higher education in South Africa and how knowledge management can be applied to ameliorate the situation. Some of these challenges include internal and external pressures for accountability and transparency in the management of the institutions; declining state subsidies; stiff competition from global counterparts; low graduate throughput; declining enrolments; inadequate facilities (e.g. space, ICTs and equipment); ill-prepared graduates for the job market; limited partnership with industry and government; brain drain; bureaucracy and general poor service delivery. The authors submit that South African universities have largely not embraced knowledge management practices and argue that KM integration within the universities’ strategic processes and operations can help address the challenges facing them. The article is largely based on authoritative secondary and primary sources complemented by the authors’ experiences working within university environments in Southern Africa.

Indigenous Knowledge Management Practices in Indigenous Organizations in South Africa and Tanzania

2020 ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edda Tandi Lwoga ◽  
Patrick Ngulube ◽  
Christine Stilwell
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Indigenous Organizations ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Traditional Communities

Traditional communities have a highly developed knowledge system. They struggle, however, to lobby for critical issues as this knowledge is not documented. The chapter addresses this problem by seeking a suitable knowledge creation model for South African and Tanzanian indigenous organizations. It draws on fieldwork and reviews the literature and organizational websites. It applies Myer's seven C's model (2014) to determine how knowledge management may assist organizations in addressing challenges effectively. The findings demonstrate that Myers's model (2014) has been successful in part in explaining the knowledge management practices of indigenous organizations in these two countries. It is also difficult for indigenous organizations to motivate people to share knowledge because indigenous knowledge is individualized and used as a source of power, status and income in the communities. It is therefore important to promote integration of indigenous knowledge with other knowledge systems for socio-economic growth, and advocating change in institutional structures.

scholarly journals Assessing the universality of knowledge management practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1596-1621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri Hussinki ◽  
Aino Kianto ◽  
Mika Vanhala ◽  
Paavo Ritala
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Resources ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Novel Concept

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the emerging discussion on the contextualization of knowledge-oriented research by examining the universality of knowledge management (KM) practices. Knowledge is a firm’s most valuable resource, and KM, or the ability to leverage knowledge resources, constitutes the base for the firm’s competitive advantages. Design/methodology/approach A theorized ten-fold conceptualization of KM practices is tested on a sample of 622 firms from four countries (Finland, Spain, China and Russia). Confirmatory factor analysis and principal component analysis are used to test the applicability of the concept in various country contexts. Findings The findings provide interesting evidence of variation in the managerial assessment of KM practices among countries. This shows that KM practices are socially embedded phenomena, affected by the managers’ institutional and cultural contexts. Research limitations/implications Researchers and managers are advised to be mindful of the differences in terms of KM practices between the studied countries and to display a certain cultural sensitivity when approaching KM. Originality/value The paper is the first to examine the managerially assessed structure of KM practices in a cross-country context with multi-firm datasets. The results will help to determine the similarity of KM practices in four economically and culturally distinct countries. It also adds to the discussion about the potential national peculiarities of KM and provides a novel concept of KM practices, which is tested in a cross-national context. Thus, this study provides an outline for future KM studies and increases managerial understanding about the variety of value-creating KM practices.

scholarly journals Knowledge Management Practices for Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Challenge for Business Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2956
Author(s):  
Tomas Cherkos Kassaneh ◽  
Ettore Bolisani ◽  
Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain ◽  
Business Managers ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Critical Resource ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Future Business

In the last decades, business competition has been increasingly among supply chains (SCs) rather than individual firms. Today, considering the challenges of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, it is becoming even more vital to coordinate and co-manage company resources, activities, and innovative efforts at the SC level. Consequently, knowledge, which is a critical resource for companies, needs to be managed properly not only in single firms but also across SCs. For the education of business managers, this implies a double challenge: first, to make students and future executives become aware of the knowledge management (KM) practices that can be adopted; second, to facilitate the assimilation of these practices for the effective management of SCs, to ensure higher economic and environmentally sustainable performances. Standard definitions and classifications can be of great help, but the current studies are very fragmented. This study contributes by exploring the literature and examining the KM practices that are proposed and defined by the different authors. A systematic review and a descriptive analysis of selected papers showed the trend and focus of papers in the KM and SC fields. In addition, based on the definitions and classifications drawn from the literature, this paper discusses a possible systematization of the key KM practices in SCs. The major contribution of this paper is the effort of re-definition and re-classification of KM practices and their potential importance for effective and sustainable SC management. This analysis can be especially useful for organizing KM courses targeted to current and future business managers.

Knowledge management practices for innovation: a multinational corporation’s perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 905-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Jiménez-Jiménez ◽  
Micaela Martínez-Costa ◽  
Raquel Sanz-Valle
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reverse Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Different Sources

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the importance of different knowledge management practices to promote organizational innovation in multinational companies. The links among internationalization, reverse knowledge transfer and social capital and organizational innovation are analyzed. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling was used to check the research hypotheses with a sample of 104 multinational companies. Findings – The results show that internalization has no direct effect on organizational innovation but a indirect effect trhrough the transfer of knowledge from external subsidiaries to the headquarter. Furthermore, this knowledge and other that comes from internal and external social capital is essential for the development of innovations. Research limitations/implications – Self-reporting by the CEOs may be the most significant limitation, as a single key informant provided the data; multiple informants would enhance the validity of the research findings. A second limitation is the cross-sectional design of the research that does not allow observation of the short- and long-term impact of the relationships among the variables. Practical implications – Organizational innovation is not an easy task. However, those multinational companies which foster knowledge management practices that generate new knowledge from external subsidiaries, internal or external social relationships, will facilitate the generation of innovations. In consequence, these companies should foster the generation of knowledge from different sources. Originality/value – The focus of the study in this paper is on multinational companies and the possibility to acquire knowledge from different sources (inside organization, external local environment and international context). Specially, focus on the transfer of knowledge from subsidiaries to headquarters (reverse knowledge transfer), as it is insufficiently investigated by current literature.

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