Social practices and the management of knowledge in project environments

Increasingly, the importance of social aspects of knowledge retention and transfer has been emphasised in the literature on managing knowledge, with the recognition that knowledge is often tacit and situated and embedded within particular social groups and situations. This has considerable relevance for understanding attempts to manage knowledge in settings where activity and learning are project-based. Knowledge management in such a context faces many challenges, due to the one-off nature of project work and the many resulting discontinuities in methods of organisation and flows of personnel, materials and information. One important consequence is that social processes potentially play an important part in the diffusion and transfer of knowledge and learning. This paper sets out to examine the significance of social factors in enhancing knowledge management capabilities in such an environment, drawing upon case study research from the construction industry. The main finding from the research is that processes of knowledge capture, transfer and learning in project settings rely very heavily upon social patterns, practices and processes in ways which emphasise the value and importance of adopting a community-based approach to managing knowledge.