Development of a Proposed Knowledge Transfer Framework for the Handover and Use of Construction Clients in KSA

Abstract

In the global construction scenario, delays and cost overruns are quite common, but in Saudi Arabia, the size and value of these issues in the public construction projects are exceeding all expectations. One of the main factors exacerbating this critical issue is the low performance of government entities involved in public projects, due to the poor communication and absence of knowledge transfer (KT) between those entities and contractor and project-management consultancy companies that were attracted by the Saudi Arabian construction boom, particularly in the public sector. To date, the knowledge and experiences of these competent companies are not utilised and transferred. However, the effective transfer of knowledge plays a significant role in the performance of organisations. This is particularly so in project-based industries such as construction, where different organisations are involved in a common project, but where significant project knowledge is not retained and transferred to the client representatives; rather, it mostly remains in other parties’ individual minds or in their organisational repositories. Therefore, the client entities in Saudi Arabian public construction projects have an urgent need for an integrated KT framework. To address the current issue of KT practices that have led to performance issues, this research aims at enabling those client representatives to transfer relevant knowledge from consultants and contractors involved in the common portfolio of projects. Firstly, the existing KT mechanisms, in a form of methods, techniques, tools and integrated models or frameworks, were assessed and analysed. Then, their pros and cons were identified to build and propose a new theoretical KT model that can be developed for the client entities’ use. The first version of this proposed KT model was produced in flowchart form, includes three basic elements integrated to form comprehensive lifecycle processes of KT, influential factors upon the successful implementation of those processes, and the methods, techniques and operational procedures for applying these KT processes and handling all the barriers. The processes include knowledge identification, acquisition, storage and retrieval, verification and development, and use. The model was developed through two rounds of a Delphi survey, conducted with a panel of 16 experts, to make the proposed model simple, structured, comprehensive, applicable, suitable and useful for client use. The analysis of a first round of semi-structured interviews revealed the best effective techniques and tools to enable the function of each process of the lifecycle to successfully transfer all the identified forms of project management knowledge, representing categories of tacit explicit and combined knowledge, that are required by individual and organisational client representatives. The results also revealed 14 significant cultural and organisational barriers to the successful implementation of the KT model, and two significant enablers to address these barriers. A second round of interviews combined with questionnaires allowed detailed assessment of the overall model, the impact level of the identified barriers, and the effectiveness of training methods and techniques adopted in the main process of knowledge acquisition. In addition to the validation of the applicability of the developed model as a result of the consensus revealed from the conducted Delphi survey, a collective interview was conducted, as a case study, with further experts representing the three parties of client, contractor and consultant, currently involved in a common portfolio of projects that belong to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) as the client of these projects. The developed KT model is applicable to the use of all client project management offices (PMOs), to successfully transfer relevant knowledge fro