Managing knowledge effectively is critical to the survival and advance of a company, especially in project-based industries such as construction. However, capturing knowledge in construction projects is a tedious task, as knowledge is usually experience based, tacit, and hard to pass on to others. In this study, a survey was carried out among eight leading Turkish construction contractors that are operating within the international construction market. The specific objectives of this survey are to find out how the tacit and explicit knowledge are captured, stored, shared, and used in forthcoming projects, as well as major drivers and barriers for knowledge management. Based on the survey, it was determined that most of these firms do not have a knowledge management strategy and a systematic way of capturing and storing tacit knowledge. A conceptual framework is proposed to formalize the knowledge-capturing process within construction companies. To demonstrate how the conceptual framework can be implemente...

One of the most difficult problems in construction is taking objective decisions. A decision-making process is very complicated and time consuming (due to the complex nature of construction projects). Many experts with extensive knowledge of construction industry take subjective decisions related to verbal methods of decision-making. Difficulties are related mostly to the creation of a set of relevant criteria, providing answers to the decision-maker’s questions. A set of proper criteria and mathematical tools (such as computer calculation algorithms with multi-criteria analysis) could significantly improve objective decision-making. The paper presents ESORD – an informatics tool allowing to establish a hierarchy (ranking) of different types of solutions on the basis of mathematical calculation. The authors present a comparison of different methods used for multi-criteria decision-making.

International construction projects generally involve participants from different cultural backgrounds. In this type of projects, national culture can significantly influence knowledge sharing between individuals. This research contributes to the literature by providing a deeper understanding of cultural issues that influence knowledge sharing in international construction projects. The research was carried out in three international construction joint ventures located in Qatar, Libya, and Bulgaria. A mixed method design was used to better understand the research problem and strengthen the findings. The findings are interpreted through the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and Hall. Based on the analysis, language and communication difficulties, trust, motivation, and personal relationships were found as the critical barriers to successful knowledge sharing in multicultural project teams. Findings from this study can help managers to better understand the role of national culture in knowledge sharing in the context of improving project performance.