Purpose – The aim of this paper is to empirically test and ?nd the correlation between knowledge characteristics and relationship ties on project performance.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via personal interviews based on a structured survey of project managers in a knowledge-intensive ?rm. The data were analyzed using a multiple regression model.
Findings – The results show that project performance was positively related to the frequency and closeness of source, and dif?culty of the ‘‘knowledge element’’ described in the survey. Interestingly, against the prevalent view, the source and the level of tacitness of the knowledge element were not found to be signi?cant.
Research limitations/implications – Data are limited to speci?c corporate setting and variables are not exhaustive, despite the fact that this study includes the most theoretically interesting variables. One implication is that strong ties to a knowledge element source are important for project success, but distinctions between internal and external sources, and degree of codi?cation, are not.
Practical implications – This study also implies that, in this day and age of knowledge management and chief knowledge of?cers, most of the important knowledge may already have been codi?ed inside the?rm,thus all eviating the past focus on transfer of tacit knowledge.This fact also implies that ?rms that are left behind in terms of managing their knowledge inside the ?rm stand to lose a lot more since the other ?rms are managing their own knowledge base better.
Originality/value – This paper incorporates and empirically tests most of the variables considered important to theoreticians and practitioners in the realm of knowledge management and network theory. The latter theory is important in the ?eld of knowledge management because it offers the link and medium in which knowledge travels and transfers. |