Knowledge Management Barriers Research Articles

Arabian Gulf Academic Libraries’ Knowledge Representation Practices, Perspectives and Barriers

Knowledge representation through metadata is crucial to successful knowledge management and ensuring access. Libraries, especially those associated with universities and colleges, have been long engaged in important activities of developing, adapting, implementing, and managing descriptive and administrative metadata, bibliographic authority control, etc. A substantial amount of research exists in knowledge representation practices of libraries that operate in North America and Western Europe. However, some other regions of the world, in particular the Arabian Gulf region which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, are currently underrepresented in this research. The exploratory project presented in this paper aimed to address this gap with the goal of developing an understanding of the current state of knowledge representation (including descriptive metadata practices, identity management, use of knowledge organisation systems, and more) in academic libraries of Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, as well as plans and preparedness of these institutions and their staff for future developments in this area to facilitate discovery of resources, specifically in the aggregated digital environment. The qualitative study used semi-structured interviews of metadata managers at a representative sample of regional university libraries. The findings provide insights into this previously under-researched area and contribute to understanding of related knowledge management barriers and perspectives on a global scale. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Knowledge Management Barriers in the Brazilian Energy Sector

Paper aims: Nowadays, there are happening profoundly changes in the energy sector worldwide. The principal innovations are sustainability, the growing share of renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency. Knowledge Management (KM) is a critical process in energy companies. KM implementation is harmfully affected by factors known as KM barriers. This paper aims to identify those barriers. Originality: Knowledge management is fundamental to most organizations’ strategy and operations in the energy sector. However, the energy companies need to overcome KM barriers. These issues are rarely addressed in the literature. Research method: This empirical, theoretical study is a qualitative approach, descriptive and exploratory. The research adopts the single case study method, having semi-structured interviews and participant observation to identify KM barriers. Main findings: Results demonstrate that the lack of incentive from top management, lack of motivation for sharing, staff retention hardship, and focusing merely on operations efficiency was identified as the main barriers to develop KM. Implications for theory and practice: These perspectives have not been explored yet and shall open a new approach to knowledge management implementation in energy companies. It offers practical guidance for diffusing and deploying KM initiatives in the energy sector.

Identification of Knowledge Management Barriers in Scientific R&D Projects in Czech Academic Environment

The primary aim of the presented paper is the identification of barriers to knowledge sharing by scientific R&D project team members in a Czech academic environment. In order to fulfill this aim, secondary analysis was used to process the literature search in the context of the problem being solved, and qualitative and quantitative research in the form of a structured interview and a questionnaire survey were used to identify the barriers to knowledge sharing by scientific R&D project team members. The essential output of the presented paper is the identification of barriers to knowledge sharing by members of the scientific R&D project team in Czech public and private universities and the discussion of their causes and impacts in scientific R&D projects. With regard to the aim of the presented paper and the formulated research questions, our effort is that the presented discussion outputs are not only academic considerations but scientific analyses and outputs capable of concrete life. Above all, we propose an innovation of Riege's model of barriers to knowledge sharing, as it was chosen as a comparative basis for our research; however, it was found that it is not applicable in the current conditions of scientific R&D project management in the Czech academic environment. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2023-04-01-02 Full Text: PDF

Assessment of knowledge management barriers and improvement strategies on public-private partnership projects in Nigeria

Several studies have alluded that many PPP stakeholders lack the required PPP competencies. The incompetence, most times, has failed in many PPP projects in developed and developing countries. One of the main pointers is the lack of knowledge transfer on many PPP projects, which could have benefitted the PPP procurement system. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge management barriers and improvement strategies for public-private partnership projects in Nigeria. The study used a quota-purposive sampling technique to select 100 construction professionals actively participating in different PPP projects in the study location. The result revealed that the leading knowledge management barriers include recording and tracking information on the PPP project, lack of management support towards knowledge management on the PPP project, and lack of expertise and skill to implement knowledge management tools. The dimensions of these knowledge management barriers are based on the features of PPP and the lack of KM competencies. To overcome these knowledge management barriers, the study showed that improvement strategies such as training and development of PPP stakeholders on knowledge management tools, legislative backing on using knowledge tools for storing PPP projects, and participation/commitment from relevant parties in information sharing need to be implemented. Inferential analysis of the improvement strategies showed that most of the improvement strategies were statistically significant. The study recommended developing PPP and KM competencies through short and long-term training and commitment from PPP stakeholders.

Knowledge management in public universities in Brazil and Portugal

The objective of this research was to investigate which indicators facilitate or are barriers to Knowledge Management and which therefore behave as enablers or inhibitors of innovation and social effectiveness in higher education institutions in Brazil and Portugal, in the perception of managers in education. It is a quantitative study operationalized through a survey with descriptive purpose. Data were collected through questionnaires and their treatment was operated on electronic spreadsheets. The results showed that both the Brazilian and the Portuguese higher education institutions have a satisfactory performance in knowledge management, especially in the process of knowledge acquisition. However, the section that deals with knowledge assessment, and which is related to the strategic process, showed that the organizational strategy has not taken on the role of a learning process overtime, which can compromise innovation capability and social effectiveness of institutions in the future. Through this study, facilitating indexes and knowledge management barriers were identified in the public service of education in Brazil and in Portugal.

Barriers of knowledge management in virtual project teams: a TISM model

In an era of global integration, especially after the release of covid-19, more and more project teams have started working from home. However, the creation of virtual teams is not without barriers for which leaders should be especially prepared. There is a lack of research on knowledge management in the context of virtual project teams. This study aims to reduce the identified gap by identifying the main barriers as well as analyzing their impact on the functioning of virtual teams. The study used analysis of the literature, TISM and MICMAC models, and research among experts. The results indicate key barriers, that are plan of work and collaboration among team members.

Barriers to the Growth of Small and Medium Scale Construction Enterprises in Ghana

The construction industry in most developing economies is dominated heavily by small and medium scale enterprises. These construction enterprises need to thrive in an extremely competitive business environment. Conversely, most of these small and medium scale construction enterprises (SMSCE) are fraught with a plethora of barriers that inhibit and threaten their growth and survival. This research sought to evaluate the critical barriers that affect the growth of SMSCEs in the Ghanaian Construction Industry. The quantitative research method was adopted using a structured questionnaire with variables that were identified through a comprehensive literature review. The survey questionnaire was administered to 400 respondents comprising 250 SMSCEs, 100 Local Authority Engineers, and 50 Consultants to elicit data based on the identified variables. The major findings established by the study as barriers to the growth of SMSCEs in Ghana are largely structured as financial/fiscal barriers, business development barriers, technical/technological barriers, corruption barriers, knowledge management barriers, project acquisition barriers. A guiding framework should be developed based on the barriers identified to aid the growth and survival of SMSCEs in Ghana.

Knowledge management as a tool for increasing the efficiency of municipality management in Slovakia

ABSTRACT Knowledge management is a key element of any prosperous organisation. Under local government conditions, modern management trends are applied slowly and gradually. The aim of this article is to identify the current state of knowledge management as an instrument for increasing efficiency of municipality management in Slovakia. Focus is on the analysis of perception, application, and barriers of knowledge management. These issues are investigated on theoretical and practical level, with collection of data by the questionnaire method in selected municipalities in Slovakia. The result is that in the self-governments systematic knowledge management is still weak. Attention to this area of management is growing and various benefits have been declared, but there is a certain lack of knowledge in terms such as knowledge, information, data, etc., more precisely confusion with other concepts. There is a lack of emphasis on the sharing of knowledge while technological understanding of this concept is dominating.

Knowledge Management in a Globalized World and the Coronavirus Age

Research background: Although the world is still in a coronavirus crisis, it also sees hope in vaccines being developed, government measures taken to revive the economy and borders reopening. At the same time, the globalized world has learned a lot. Knowledge management and knowledge sharing in a globalized world now have even higher mission than before, since work regimes have completely changed and the necessary requirements for the protection of employees´ health and safety are being adopted. Purpose of the article: Knowledge management is a multidisciplinary activity; its individual disciplines will be described, characterized and researched. Research surveys will map the activities of knowledge management in new work regimes with the protection of employee health and safety in order to optimize knowledge management of businesses in a globalised world with existing threats. Methods: After the questionnaire survey is completed, the respondents’ answers will be encoded in Microsoft Excel. The encoded data will be exported to the SPSS statistical software. The objective of the statistical evaluation is to extract relationships and linkages that could contribute to optimising the knowledge management of enterprises in a globalised world. To detect basic relationships and linkages, Pearson’s chi-square test of independence will be used at the level of descriptive statistics, using contingency tables. Findings & Value added: Based on the conducted research, it diagnoses existing knowledge management barriers and knowledge sharing in globalized enterprises.

Modeling the key barriers of knowledge management adoption in sustainable supply chain

PurposeThe food industry is crucial in delivering healthy products for life saving of the society. The identification of key barriers of knowledge management (KM) is desired to enhance the sustainability of the industry. KM has been seen as a part of sustainable development by reducing the bullwhip effect in the entire supply chain. The core objective of the existing research is to prioritize the essential factors of KM adoption in sustainable supply chain (SSC) based on fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) method.Design/methodology/approachIn order to fulfill objectives of this study, an extensive review of literature and a questionnaire-based field visits were conducted. A total of five major barriers categories and 22 sub-barriers categories were identified in food sector of Pakistan using experts' inputs. This study employed fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP).FindingsManagerial barriers, innovation and technological barriers categories are found to be highly prioritized among others. Further, the sensitivity analysis is applied to check the incremental changes of ranked barriers. This prioritization of barriers and incremental changes in them is expected to serve food sector for long-term sustainability and competitive advantage for importers and exporters. Finally, the findings of this research are very helpful for industrial experts, practitioners, consultants and government officials in effectively developing policies regarding KM adoption in line with sustainable goals.Research limitations/implicationsThe present work is conducted in the Pakistani context; however, the benchmark model may be tested and applied to other developing countries to compare the outcomes. For further research, the identified barriers may also be evaluated to establish their inter-relationships, using ISM, DEMATEL, ANP, etc. Similarly, the results of this study can also be compared with that of other fuzzy multi-criteria techniques like fuzzy TOPSIS, fuzzy VIKOR, fuzzy ELECTRE, fuzzy PROMETHEE, or fuzzy VIKOR.Practical implicationsThis research study can facilitate policymakers, government bodies, stakeholders and supply chain professionals to recognize the key barriers they may encounter in adopting KM practices in their SSC. Additionally, this work helps managers to evaluate the identified barriers by computing their relative importance in adopting KM practices at managerial levels like strategically, tactically and operationally activities in business. This study also facilitates industrial management in formulating policies and action plans in case of implementation, eliminating the barriers in adoption of KM, and SSC successfully.Originality/valueFew research studies were conducted on KM adoption in industries of China, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, but due to workforce diversity these industries have dissimilar views of experts about KM adoption. This study significantly contributed to fill the existing literature gap for prioritization of key barriers against KM implementation in Pakistani context.

Knowledge management in knowledge-intensive organisations: Understanding its benefits, processes, infrastructure and barriers

Background: Knowledge management aims to improve organisational performance and it marks the beginning of organisational transformation. Most knowledge-intensive organisations engage and practise knowledge management without a full understanding of its benefits. A knowledge-intensive organisation is an organisation whose services and operations are heavily reliant on professional knowledge. The study, therefore, provides a solid understanding of knowledge management benefits, processes, infrastructure and barriers in knowledge-intensive organisations.Objectives: To understand knowledge management, its benefits, processes, infrastructure and barriers in knowledge-intensive organisations. The research objectives extend our understanding of knowledge management in organisations, identify and describe knowledge management benefits. Identification of the most important knowledge management process and associated infrastructure are among other objectives.Method: A survey was used to solve the problem. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from 112 participants from knowledge-intensive firms in Namibia. The quantitative data were analysed using Microsoft Excel 2013 spreadsheet package.Results: The study has revealed that the prime benefit of knowledge management in knowledge-intensive organisations is to allow improved knowledge flow, thereby enhancing the capability of the organisation to manage change with more than 50% representation of the participants. In addition to that, the study also found that knowledge sharing is the most important knowledge management process, among other processes such as knowledge creation, knowledge capture and knowledge reuse. All the participants (100%) concurred that a flat organisational structure supports knowledge sharing. The research findings have further discovered that the biggest barrier to effective knowledge management is the lack of budget to support knowledge management efforts. This was represented by 67.9% of the participants. Lack of executive support and lack of time were also among the great barriers with 57.1% and 52.7%, respectively.Conclusion: Knowledge management allows improved knowledge flow in knowledge-intensive organisations. We can, therefore, conclude that the participants believed that knowledge sharing is more important than creation, capturing, transferring and reuse. It is, therefore, important to underscore that knowledge sharing should be taken as a priority if organisations are to remain competitive. Research results have also revealed that a flat organisational structure is the best for knowledge sharing. For improved organisational performance, knowledge management barriers must be removed with the assistance of management.

Knowledge Management and Integrated Water Resource Management—Types of Knowledge and Key Considerations

AbstractKnowledge sharing and transfer in the field of Integrated Water Resource Management, on a global scale, can be improved with an understanding of cultural considerations, technical opportunities, and constraints, and the theory underpinning knowledge management. This paper explores existing literature and applies a human centered design approach (customer journey mapping) to collect data. Fourteen semi‐structured interviews with practitioners across the Asia Pacific region provide a basis to understand knowledge management barriers, breakthroughs, and outcomes to support improved knowledge sharing and transfer among water management practitioners. Findings identify a set of areas of needed knowledge, demonstrate that virtual means of knowledge sharing and connection are best supplemented with face‐to‐face interaction, and argue for a facilitated approach to best achieve success. The research conducted in this study serves to support the development of a global community of practice for water management practitioners to better support integrated water management outcomes.

Identification and prioritization of the barriers of knowledge management implementation using fuzzy analytical network process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers of knowledge management (KM) implementation in Alborz Province industrial Parks Corporation and prioritize them using fuzzy analytical network process (FANP). Design/methodology/approach Through an in-depth review of the literature on KM and researcher findings from observations and interviews with experts, the main barriers of KM implementation, namely, organizational culture, organizational structure, human resource, technology and miscellaneous factors along with their related factors in the surveyed organization were identified. Then, based on the information gathered, an expert questionnaire was developed. Finally, the priority of each main barrier and their sub-factors were determined using FANP. Findings The results show that human resource and organizational culture factors with the weights of 0.66 and 0.22, respectively, have the highest ranking and therefore are the most important barriers. The technology factor with the weight of 0.00002 is the least important barrier in implementing KM in the surveyed corporation. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations of this study is the generalizability of the findings, which may be limited by the single case study method used. Originality/value There are fewer studies about KM barriers specifically with a focus on prioritizing them in organizations, especially in the context of Iran as a developing country. This study develops a comprehensive and solid mathematical technique to prioritize the identified barriers of KM implementation in the context of Iran.

Knowledge management barriers, practices and maturity model

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the barriers and practices associated with knowledge management (KM), which is characterized as an important management tool to add value to products and services of companies and, thus, allow them to become more competitive and unique, of large Brazilian companies. Design/methodology/approach – As a conceptual framework, the author adopted the main theories on KM to extract the barriers and practices included in the literature, aiming to confirm them through quantitative research with managers from large Brazilian companies. Based on the responses obtained, the author conducted several multivariate analyses, including descriptive analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression. Findings – In addition to presenting the main barriers and key practices associated with KM, our main result also presents a model for the evaluation of the level of maturity in KM based on the practices adopted by large Brazilian companies. Originality/value – The main result presents a model for the evaluation of the level of maturity in KM based on the practices adopted by large Brazilian companies.

Knowledge Management: Tinjauan Pemberdayaan pada Perusahaan Umumnya

Knowledge management is not a new concept but its use in the firm still holds a very important role. This paper aims to further introduce the concept of knowledge management, which in its implementation has so many benefits that can be gained, barriers that can interfere, and things that must be considered. From thebenefits and barriers of knowledge management’s implementation, we can analyze the future of knowledge management use. To support this paper, data and information are searched through some books, journals, and articles that related with topic. The result of this paper is a comprehension about knowledge management concept and its implementation to firm.

Selected issues in knowledge management implementation: a sectorial analysis

The objective of this paper is to investigate the similarities and dissimilarities in Knowledge Management (KM) practices among selected sectors of manufacturing organisations in India through formulation and testing of some hypotheses. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted on four sectors, namely auto, engineering, process and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). The findings of the sectorial analysis show that the selected sectors do not significantly differ in the various channels used for effective knowledge sharing and in the skills required by KM team. Further, it has been observed that the selected sectors significantly differ in the use of KM in different functional areas, in KM Barriers (KMBs) and in KM Critical Success Factors (CSFs).

Knowledge Management Implementation: Modeling the Barriers

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to successful KM implementation by understanding the dynamics among various knowledge management barriers (KMBs) that hinder the implement of KM in organisations. Using interpretive structural modeling (ISM), the research presents a hierarchy-based model and the mutual relationship among the KMBs. The research shows that there is a group of KMBs having high driving power and low dependence which require maximum attention and are of strategic importance. Another group consists of those KMBs which have high dependence and low driving power which necessitate the resultant actions. This categorisation provides a useful tool to top management to differentiate between independent and dependent KMBs and their mutual relationships which would help them to focus on those key KMBs that are most significant for effective KM implementation. Arrangement of KMBs in a hierarchy and the categorisation into driver and dependent categories is an exclusive effort in the area of KM implementation.

Bridging the distance: Managing cross-border knowledge holders

This article examines the micro-level operational difficulties for multinational corporations (MNCs) to generate value from its highly geographically dispersed cross-border knowledge and studies the strategies for overcoming them. Using China as the research context, we identify key geographical, institutional and cultural features of cross-border knowledge holders and examine the dimensions of distance that separates them. We then link these dimensions to the conditions that facilitate cross-border knowledge building processes. In doing so, we propose a conceptual model for overcoming these context-specific knowledge management barriers.

Knowledge management barriers: why the technology imperative seldom works

Knowledge management has made inroads in all fields and continues to evolve as a pivotal task for companies trying to survive in today's competitive marketplace. While this recent surge is justified, many companies have yet to realize value or gain returns from their investments in information technology solutions to aid in managing knowledge. From interviews with executives responsible for knowledge management ventures as well as front-line employees using those systems, four common issues have emerged that executives need to consider while pushing IT-driven knowledge initiatives.