The role of knowledge management in e-procurement initiatives for construction organizations

In this 'new' economy, organizations are depending more on their knowledge assets or intellectual capital (IC) to remain competitive. There appears to be one pre-eminent challenge that needs to be addressed. That challenge may be expressed as how organizations can manage their knowledge assets or IC to help them successfully transfer their business processes on-line without adversely disrupting their business operations. One of these processes involves the procurement of goods and services. This paper looks at the important role of knowledge and knowledge management in facilitating e-procurement initiatives. It also discusses some of the main challenges in this regard. Some tentative findings of an on-going PhD study are also discussed. With the advent of the Internet, there are now new opportunities for organizations to transfer their business processes on-line via e-business initiatives. E-procurement can add a significant improvement to the value of construction projects. However, there remains a paucity of empirical research in this area.