The interrelationship between knowledge management and business process management and its impact on the decision-making process in the construction sector : a case study of Jordan
In recent years, Knowledge has always been accepted as being a valuable asset. In particular, it has become an important factor for the construction industry. To adapt to changes in the local and global business environment including the information technology revolution and to cope with the new competition, construction organisations have attempted to manage and apply their knowledge effectively and efficiently. The literature has shown that several problems in relation to the decision-making process in the construction sector in general and in particular, in Jordan, have been identified, e.g. selecting suppliers, equipment, and contractors. Because of the numerous number of business processes associated with making key decisions which require eliciting the correct knowledge to facilitate performing those business processes, there is a gap in the integration between knowledge management and business processes with regard to the decision making process. In order to bridge this gap, this research was carried out in order to investigate and explain how organisations in the construction sector can enhance the decision-making process (DMP) by practicing knowledge management (KM) and business process management (BPM) activities. To fulfil this aim, a mixed-methods approach has been adopted, combining a literature review approach, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to collect data from the Jordanian construction organisations. A framework has been proposed. This framework contains three elements with twelve sub-variables with all of these determined from an extensive review of previous studies and validated through an empirical survey. The quantitative data was obtained from the respondents through the use of a five-point Likert scale. To refine and validate the proposed framework, semi-structured interviews were then carried out with selected, experienced practitioners in the construction sector in order to elicit their views on any element that should be added to the framework in addition to those that had been discovered within the literature review and synthesis, and to discover if the domain experts supported the outcomes from the questionnaire survey and to verify the findings achieved from the questionnaire analysis. The current study provides a method of acquiring a more comprehensive knowledge of the importance of KM alongside BPM for the improvement of DM styles to attain organisational goals. It generates a strong operational as well as theoretical approach to the organisational utilization of knowledge and business processes through the development of an associated theoretical framework. While previous studies have indicated that knowledge enablers along with business processes guarantee organisational achievement across organisational DMP, this research shows that precise decision-making determination by decision makers could strengthen the relationship chain.
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