The significance of knowledge sharing approaches in Malaysian construction organisations

Few would argue with the principle that the sharing of relevant knowledge is important. But the significance of knowledge sharing in the Malaysian construction industries has received little or no consideration. Perceptions of Malaysian practitioners, in terms of formal and informal approaches to knowledge sharing in construction organisations are discussed in this paper. This is based on a study which combines qualitative and quantitative research methods including a literature review, semi structured interviews and questionnaire survey involving small, medium and large construction organisations in Malaysia. A total of 384 completed questionnaires were returned and 28 semi- structured interviews were conducted with practitioners at different levels of management. This paper highlights the results from the questionnaire survey only. The findings indicate that all participants are of the view that knowledge sharing makes a significant contribution towards the improvement of organisational performance. Understanding the effectiveness of formal and informal approaches to knowledge sharing may assist construction organisations in taking full advantage of the improvement in organisation performance.