Factors Affecting Knowledge Sharing Intentions among Construction Workers: The Case of Lebanon

Abstract

Construction knowledge is tacit; thus, it resides in the minds of its bearers. The flow of this knowledge depends more on the attitudes and intentions of individuals than it does on the wishes and desires of upper management. Consequently, exploring the drivers of these individual attitudes and intentions is critical for understanding how knowledge flows in construction organizations. This paper builds the case for studying the current state of knowledge sharing among construction workers. It also presents the preliminary findings of a survey of construction labor working on a set of projects in Lebanon. The survey focuses on the different drivers of knowledge sharing intentions among construction workers, namely social, internal, and organizational drivers. Social drivers include factors such as reciprocal relationships. Internal drivers describe individual attitudes, whereas organizational drivers relate to fairness and affiliation with the organization. Preliminary findings indicate that workers in the Lebanese construction companies have generally positive intentions to share knowledge with their colleagues. This paper is part of a research initiative that aims at using data analytics and advanced statistical models to determine the underlying relations among these drivers and their impact on knowledge sharing. The ultimate findings aim to provide regional contractors with strategies for fostering knowledge sharing thereby improving productivity on construction sites.