KEY INDICATORS OF KNOWLEDGE CREATION WITHIN CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSULTING FIRMS IN AFRICA

Abstract

Knowledge creation has been recognised to be one of the key drivers for competitiveness within the professional services industry. The civil engineering industry has however been recognised as being poor in its approach to learning and performance improvement. The study reported in this paper was aimed at establishing the key indicators of knowledge creation especially with SMEs operating within the civil engineering industry in Africa. Through the questionnaire survey, 14 key indicators of KC were established. Further analysis showed that these indicators were related to productivity, utilisation and protection through the firm’s resources, systems and policies. A combination of these factors was established to be key ingredients of knowledge creation within civil engineering consulting firms in Africa. The findings of this study add a new dimension on the subject of knowledge creation.