Project knowledge management and brokering in virtual team-environments : application of best practices from modern e-learning management

• Main Author: Finger, Nils Thomas
• Published: University of Salford 2016
• Subjects: 658.4
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.714244

Despite its criticality, there is still insufficient evidence pertaining to project knowledge brokering in virtual team-envi¬ron¬ments. Paradoxically, virtual set-ups are increasingly used to facilitate the access, trans¬fer and application of knowledge that is dispersed and stuck globally within company-silos and social-networks. These temporary set-ups actually restrain aspects of knowledge-mana¬ge¬¬ment as teams never or rarely meet. Accordingly, this thesis contributes to the en¬han¬cement of virtual project knowledge brokering practice in response to knowledge-based-theory, stating that knowledge is a vital asset to survive in super-competitive and ra¬pi¬dly changing business environments, obliging companies to effectively apply and yield know¬ledge. Besides creation and interpretation of knowledge, this thesis extends the discipline via an identification of most relevant and suitably applied best practices from well advanced e-learning management. These best practices have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of virtual project knowledge management, as they successfully overcome similar con-straints around virtual knowledge brokering within e-learning. Our contribution is achie¬ved through an extensive literature review that distils 25 potential e-learning best practices. These practices are assessed in a Delphi study, which is an accepted group communication methodology applied to gain consensus from experts of certain domains regarding real-life problems. The process includes structured interrogations of well-chosen experts from related areas (project, knowledge, e-learning, and virtual team management) to achieve consensus on priorities of e-learning practices. Lessons learnt are transferred between transient virtual project-teams, our analysis suggests that companies should focus on transferring selected e-learning best practices that may have the strongest improvement-impact. Ranked with the highest importance were Ease of Use/Usefulness, Required Management Buy-In/Incentives, and Team Cooperation. Likewise, the Delphi experts also mostly agreed that those best practices of e-learning are easily transferable: ranked with highest feasibility is, besides Ease of Use/Usefulness and Team Cooperation, the easy Procurement of (suitable) IT Tools. In line with knowledge-management-theory, our findings support the claim that besides investments in information systems, companies will only succeed in leveraging the learning gained across virtual projects if they focus on the strategic management of related cultural, managerial, and organisational elements of project knowledge management and brokering.