A practice perspective on knowledge sharing between projects A construction case study

Organisations competitive advantages and ability to compete in the business arena is recognised to be highly related to organisational knowledge and knowledge management (KM). Knowledge sharing between projects is essential for project-based organisations to prevent that knowledge gets isolated in separate projects. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate knowledge sharing practices at a case organisation and the aim is to provide the organisation with two proposals of KM initiatives, which could improve between project knowledge sharing practices. This qualitative study takes a practice perspective on knowledge sharing between projects in a construction organisation to identify practices and underlying social dynamics affecting these practices. The theoretical framework derives from practice theory and is used as a lens of inquiry when analysing the interview and observation data. Two normative and co-dependent practices are found to permeate the organisation and to be affecting knowledge sharing practices between projects, searching and involvement. Both of these normative practices are found to be of mainly informal nature and highly related to the social and cultural context. Within the organisation, four knowledge brokers are identified to be highly related to the organisational knowledge sharing. These brokers are found to facilitate the normative sharing practices and is utilising both informal and formal arenas. Several of the formal arenas is found to facilitate the two normative practices and enable the development of informal sharing practices and connections between individuals in the organisation. In order for KM initiatives to be successful, the organisation needs to evaluate practices and understand the underlying social dynamics to align the initiative with the organisational conditions. The findings of this study provide the case organisation with the basis for two KM initiatives and further highlight the importance of practice from a KM perspective. This thesis adds to an area which is receiving limited attention and offers a starting point for future researches to evaluate practices in other organisations or industries