Development of a conceptual framework for knowledge management within construction project supply chain

Knowledge management (KM) has become an important process in many industries since last decade. To sustain in the turbulent business environment, KM is seen as pre-requisite in the project-based industries including the construction industry to solve regular and emerging situations. Regular tasks and daily activities result into reuse/sharing of past experience and knowledge, whereas emergent situations provide opportunities to develop and adapt innovative and novel approaches to overcome critical challenges. In the construction projects, these project learning and shared experiences are valuable assets. The captured knowledge can be reused during a project and for future projects to improve project performance across all phases of construction. However, in reality, knowledge capture practices are hampered due to work pressure, time pressure, poor working conditions and dismantling of the project team at the end of the project. Integrated project supply chain for a construction project is an innovative and collaborative approach for solving many such challenges. First, the concepts of KM and integrated project supply chain in construction development processes are reviewed. Second, this paper differentiates between regular and emerging situations. Finally, the paper proposes a conceptual framework of KM for construction project supply chain partners to capture and reuse project knowledge.