Investigation Into the Adoption of Knowledge Management (KM) in the Nigerian Industry Construction Industry
Chapter One
Aim and Objectives
Aim:
The aim of this study is an investigation into the adoption of knowledge management (km) in the Nigerian industry construction industry with a view of improving service delivery.
Objectives:
To identify the attributes of leadership behaviours and Knowledge Management.
To establish the leadership behaviours exhibited by the consulting firms in the NCI.
To establish whether the consulting firms in the NCI exhibits Knowledge
Management practice
To examine the relationship between leadership behaviours and Knowledge Management.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Construction Industry
The construction industry, as it is common with most industries is encumbered with problems of efficiency and productivity. Akinsola and Potts, (1998) argued that the problems associated with the construction industry was much greater due to the complex nature of the industry and the unique characteristics of its finished products. The activities of the construction industry have been observed to be highly knowledge – intensive. Egbu and Robinson (2005) cited the research conducted by Windrum et al. (1997) identified design, architecture, surveying and other construction activities as knowledge-intensive service sectors. Anumba et al., (2007) described the construction industry as heterogeneous and diverse, consisting of different organisations, consultants, building materials and product producers, and professionals providing a range of services for clients, customers and the wider community. The industry is dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which make up over 90% of all organisations, with a relatively small number of large companies.
The industry is so crucial to growth and development of any country‟s economy; on this basis the industry is often described as a leading economic sector. This accounts for the importance of the construction industry across generations and developmental stages. Anumba et al., (2007) posited that too often, the construction industry is known for its products (e.g. buildings, roads, bridges, dams and monuments) and not seen as an industry that provides services to its clients and customers. This is despite the very high levels of „service-input‟ needed in the formation of construction products.
The Nigeria Construction Industry
The Nigerian construction industry (NCI) had been described as a „sleeping giant‟ in terms of service delivery and capacity to satisfy the needs of its clients (Kolo and Ibrahim, 2010). The NCI contributes an average of 5 percent to the annual gross domestic product and an average of about one – third of the fixed capital investment (Omole, 2000). It accounts for employing approximately8 million people, having a population of approximately 140million. This represents approximately 20% of Nigeria‟s workforce (National Bureau of Statistics, 2006).
Dantata (2008) stressed that in Nigeria it is safe to say that the dominant client for construction activities is the government through its many ministries and agencies. The private clients include individuals, international bodies, large and medium private companies. The NCI as captured by Dantata (2008) is divided into two major groups; the informal and the formal. The formal sector unlike the informal one is an organised structure of construction activities in which activities are conducted under set rules and regulations including compliance to national laws on employment and procurement. Dantata further stressed that lack of skilled manpower, finance and incompetent professionals as contributing factors hindering the performance of the industry. The NCI has become increasingly more sophisticated and challenging. Many projects are getting larger and more technical requiring high quality professional services of more specialised people who are driven by knowledge to add value and improve the fortunes of the industry in Nigeria.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Approach
A quantitative research approach was adopted for the study. The quantitative research approach is synonymous with the traditional, experimental, or positivist method (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005). The objective of a quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to phenomena. A descriptive research involves either identifying the characteristics of an observed phenomenon or exploring possible correlations among two or more phenomena. Quantitative research operates under the assumption that reality is and can be easily divided into discrete, measurable variables.
Quantitative research was identified to be three types namely experiments, quasiexperiments and surveys (SJI, 1999). The survey technique is the most widely used method in social sciences and the most appropriate for this study (a self-administered questionnaire survey was adopted for the study). Quantitative data is any data that is in numerical form such as statistics, percentages, etc.
The Self-Administered Questionnaire Survey
According to McQueen and Knussen (2002) a questionnaire survey is one of the most cost effective ways to involve a large number of people in the process in order to achieve better results. The study questionnaire was a self-administrated measuring instrument comprising closed-ended questions. The accuracy and success of
questionnaire surveys largely depend on the careful design of its contents, structure and the response format. In view of the foregoing statement considerable effort was therefore taken in designing the questionnaire for this study.
The self administered questionnaire survey for this study was used to answer the second and third objectives of the study i.e.; to establish the leadership behaviours (transformational, transactional and laissez-faire) exhibited by consulting firms in the NCI, and to establish whether the consulting firms in the NCI exhibits KM. The reasons for adopting the structured questionnaire are that it facilitates data analysis and the estimations of validity and reliability indices for the instrument. It is easier and demands less time to complete.
The 5 point Likert rating was adopted to elicit information from the respondents. The respondents were required to indicate the extent to which they agreed with a given statement, on a five point scale. The ratings used for both leadership behaviours and KM are as follows: 5-Strongly agree, 4-Agree 3-Not sure, 2-Disagree and 1-Strongly disagree.
Study Population
Consulting firms based in two major cities of Nigeria (Abuja (FCT) and Kaduna State) were chosen as the target population for this study. The choice of Kaduna and Abuja for this study was premised on the fact that both cities have a fair concentration of construction consulting firms. From literature studies have shown that construction consulting firms are knowledge oriented firms which adequately suited the population requirements of the study. The construction consulting firms used in the study were Quantity Surveying, Architectural, Structural, and Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) Engineering firms.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Data Presentation and Analysis
In this study descriptive statistics are used to describe the main features of a collection of data in quantitative terms. This involved the use of frequencies, percentages and means for presenting description finding of the survey. These techniques were employed for analysing data related to the characteristics of the respondents, their organisations and closed-ended questions.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary of Findings
The following are the findings from the study:
Consulting firms in the NCI (Architectural firms, Quantity Surveying firms, Structural Engineering firms, Electrical Engineering firms and Mechanical Engineering firms) exhibit transformational leadership behaviours, but do not exhibit transactional and laissez-faire leadership behaviours.
Consulting firms in the NCI from the outcome of the findings showed that inspire workers and others to perform at a higher level as well as acknowledging each individual/worker for their contributions are the transformational leadership behaviour factors most exhibited by the consulting firms.
KM was found to be present in all the construction consulting firms in the NCI, due to the transformational leadership behaviours being exhibited by the leadership of the consulting firms.
Information Technology (IT) is the KM inventory most existent in the consulting firms in the NCI, while strategy is the least existent KM inventory in the consulting firms in the NCI.
Conclusion
The results of the study have shown that transformational leadership behaviours are present in the construction consulting firms in the NCI, which consequently, is responsible for the presence of KM in the construction consulting firms. It can therefore be concluded that the construction consulting firms in the NCI possess the right leadership behaviours that facilitates the adoption of KM.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are made based on the findings of this study;
The transformational leadership behaviours exhibited by the consulting firms has a strong relationship with higher productivity, higher morale and satisfaction, higher organisational effectiveness, lower absenteeism, and greater organisational adaptability by employees of the consulting firms. The foregoing outcomes are all embedded in the transformational leadership components of idealised influence attributes, idealised influence behaviour, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual
consideration. It is therefore pertinent that the consulting firms harness this strong positive relationship between senior management and employees as a result of the characteristics of transformational leadership behaviours present in their firms to reaping increased productivity for their firms.
Transformational leadership is associated with effective leadership and it is receptive to innovation. Innovation is a change management initiative which includes knowledge management. The consulting firms on the basis of this fact can formally adopt KM practice to improve their competitiveness in the market place and the quality of their service delivery in the NCI. iii. The consulting firms must attempt to improve their KM strategies since project learning is complimentary to overall KM strategy.
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