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The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of knowledge management critical success factors (KM CSFs) on project management performance outcomes in major construction organisations in Sri Lanka. As a result, the significant KM CSFs are prioritised to support KM implementation.

This study is cross-sectional in nature, adopting the quantitative method of analysis. The research model includes nine KM CSFs (culture, leadership, organisational structure, IT support, T-shaped skills, training, teamwork, performance measurement and benchmarking) and nine items measuring project management performance outcomes. Data were collected from senior, middle and technical staff involved in projects by means of a self-administered survey questionnaire mailed to them.

The Pearson’s correlation coefficient suggests that all of the KM CSFs are adequately correlated except for organisational structure, which has a poor correlation with IT support, T-shaped skills, teamwork and benchmarking. The results of multiple linear regression show that four KM CSFs (T-shaped skills, teamwork, benchmarking and transformational leadership) are significantly and positively related to project management performance outcomes. The remaining five KM CSFs are not significant. The multiple-criteria decision-making analysis reveals that benchmarking, transformational leadership, teamwork and T-shaped skills are the main priority for the construction organisations to consider in implementing KM.

Future studies should consider construction organisations of multiple sizes and include factors beyond organisational control, KM processes and the effects of demographic variables. Longitudinal studies are also imperative to determine the performance impact brought about by KM implementation over a period of time.

Benchmarking, transformational leadership, teamwork and T-shaped skills should serve as the initial focus to support KM implementation to achieve the desired project management performance outcomes. It is only after these KM CSFs are in place that the construction organisations can concentrate on other factors.

This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationships between the KM CSFs and project management performance outcomes in the construction industry in Sri Lanka, which is still at its infancy stage of KM implementation. Prioritisation of the significant KM CSFs in supporting effective KM implementation in the construction organisations further enhances the value of this study.

Diverse cultures may make people behave differently and this, in turn, can impact project management. While the relationship between culture and project success has been widely explored, there is a need of addressing the gap in the relationship between culture and project management performance outcomes, that is, the performance in implementing project management processes and practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this gap by studying the role of cultural dimensions on project management performance.

An explorative survey including 200 observations relating to the experiences of project managers with a big experience on projects involving many different national cultures has been conducted to collect primary data on the relationship between the nationality observed and the project management performance outcomes shown. Nationality has been used as a proxy to link individual cultural dimensions and project management performance.

The results of this paper show that individualism impacts project dynamics and project control positively. Moreover, masculinity impacts project dynamics positively, and uncertainty avoidance impacts project control negatively. When recognized, different cultural dimensions can drive project management performance outcomes. The increasing awareness on this topic can be a valid instrument to control the cultural effect and take advantage of it to enhance project success.

This study contributes to the theory of project management by recognizing linkages between cultural dimensions and project management performance. Moreover, this study overcomes the concept of nationality, focusing on individuals and their unique set of cultural dimensions.

The aim of this paper is to examine the links between project management process characteristics and project-level and firm-level performance outcomes to test the hypotheses that project management assets being valuable, rare, inimitable and having organizational support leads to competitive advantage.

This paper analyzes data from responses to an online survey by 198 North American Project Management Institute® members. Regression analysis is used to examine the relationship between six factors extracted from an exploratory factor analysis that comprise the three project management asset characteristics – valuable, rare and inimitable, three factors that comprise organizational support for the project management process, and two factors that comprise project management performance outcomes – project-level and firm-level performance.

Organizational support for the project management process, specifically project management integration, was found to significantly contribute to both project-level and firm-level performance. Of the asset factors examined, valuable project management knowledge was found to contribute to project-level and firm-level performance, though information technology (IT) tools did not. Inimitable proprietary tangible assets were found to contribute to both project-level and firm-level performance, and inimitable embedded intangible assets were also found to contribute to firm-level performance. Rare knowledge sharing tools and techniques were found to negatively contribute to project-level performance.

Limitations of this study include sample size, response rate and self-report bias, calling for a larger sample in ongoing research.

This study draws managerial attention to project management assets as sources of competitive advantage, highlighting the need to have organizational support for the project management process through organizational integration, and emphasizing the importance of valuable project management knowledge-based assets and inimitable project management assets that are proprietary and tangible as well as those that are embedded and intangible.

Few papers have applied the resource-based view of the firm to examine project management capabilities as a source of competitive advantage. This paper contributes to the literature on the resource-based view of the firm and to an improved understanding of project management as a source of competitive advantage.

The purpose of this paper is to examine characteristics of project management assets and project management performance outcomes as a step towards exploring the link between assets being valuable, rare, inimitable, and having organizational support and the achievement of competitive advantage.

This paper analyzes data from responses to an online survey by 198 North American Project Management Institute^® members. Exploratory factor analysis is used to identify characteristics of project management assets and project management performance outcomes.

In total, six factors that comprised the characteristics of project management assets, three factors that comprised organizational support for project management assets, and two factors that comprised the project management performance outcomes were extracted.

Limitations of this study include sample size, response rate, and self‐report bias, calling for a larger sample in ongoing research. This study is a step towards making the link between project management assets and performance outcomes.

This study draws managerial attention to project management assets as sources of competitive advantage, applying the resource based view of the firm that assets are sources of competitive advantage if they add economic value, are rare, are difficult to imitate, and have organizational support.

Few papers have applied the resource based view of the firm to examine project management capabilities as a source of competitive advantage. This paper contributes to the literature on the resource based view of the firm and contributes to an improved understanding of project management as a source of competitive advantage.

This research draws on the resource-based view of the firm from strategic management and applies it to a study of competitive advantage in the project management context. The relationship between the characteristics of project management resources, focusing on organizational support for the project management process, and outcomes of the project management process are examined.

This study uses data gathered from 437 North American project management professionals with an existing survey tool that was used in a prior smaller sample study. The study uses Barney’s VRIO framework that assesses resources as valuable (V), rare (R), inimitable (I) and organizationally supported to leverage their value (O). The conceptual model hypothesizes relationships between the project management asset characteristics (valuable, rare, and inimitable), organizational support for the project management process, and project management performance outcomes (both project and firm level). Hypotheses are tested using factors extracted from a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The factors extracted include two factors representing valuable project management asset characteristics, one factor representing rare project management asset characteristics, one factor representing inimitable project management asset characteristics, two factors representing organizational support for the project management process, one factor representing project-level performance and one factor representing firm-level performance.

Project management assets that are considered valuable and organizational support for the project management process are found to contribute positively to project management process outcomes. No advantage was perceived from rare and inimitable project management assets. Project-level performance was found to significantly mediate the relationship between organizational support and firm-level performance.

This study draws managerial attention to organizational support for the project management process as a source of competitive advantage through its positive affect on both project-as well as firm-level performance.

The study uses a survey tool from previous research with a new, larger dataset to contribute to the understanding of the importance of organizational support for the project management process in a quest for both project success as well as a firm's competitive advantage.

The purpose of this paper is to study how project-level performance mediates the effect of project management assets on firm-level performance by examining the direct and mediated relationships between the project management process characteristics: valuable, rare, inimitable and organizationally supported on project-level and firm-level performance outcomes.

This paper analyzes data from an online survey completed by 198 North American Project Management Institute® members. Linear regression and Sobel Tests are used to examine the relationships between nine factors extracted from an exploratory factor analysis that comprise project management asset characteristics, one factor that comprises project-level performance outcomes, and one factor that comprises firm-level performance outcomes.

Not only does project-level performance positively and significantly affect firm-level performance, but project-level performance also significantly mediates the effect of project management asset characteristics (for all nine factors) on firm performance.

Limitations of this study include sample size and self-report bias, calling for a larger sample in ongoing research.

This study contributes to the stream of literature on project management assets as sources of competitive advantage and makes the case for sustained organizational investments in the project management process.

This paper contributes to the limited, but increasing interest in applying the resource-based view of the firm to project management capabilities as a source of competitive advantage.

This paper aims to review the knowledge management (KM) processes, knowledge conversion modes and critical success factors (CSFs) and contextualise them to the construction setting to guide effective KM implementation.

This paper is conceptual in nature. It begins with a review of issues faced by construction organisations, which led them to consider implementing KM. This is followed by a comprehensive review of KM processes, knowledge conversion modes, KM CSFs and their application to the construction industry.

Based on the socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation (SECI) model, the knowledge conversion modes are discussed, linking them to the KM processes of knowledge creation, sharing, storage and application. The KM CSFs identified from construction literature suggest that they can be categorised into two groups, namely, factors within organisational control (managerial influence, technological influence and resource influence) and factors beyond organisational control (social influence, political influence, environmental influence, economic influence, industry influence and construction technology influence). The resulting review is discussed in terms of how construction organisations can implement KM effectively to achieve the desired project performance outcomes in terms of time, cost and quality.

Although this paper has made some theoretical contributions, a quantitative analysis will further reinforce its value both in theory and practice, particularly in terms of applying the KM processes and CSFs to different organisational, industry and country settings. A quantitative research is being carried out in the major construction sector in Sri Lanka to establish the relationships between the KM processes, knowledge conversion modes and KM CSFs with project performance outcomes, which will be reported in a subsequent publication.

As the construction industry uses a considerable number of knowledge workers, implementing KM for project planning and execution is the key to sustaining the growth of construction organisations and industry, particularly when KM implementation is linked to project performance outcomes. Practical implications are provided in terms of what successful KM implementation entails.

Effective KM implementation can serve as a conduit for construction organisations to build capacity and develop the ability to react quickly to social challenges brought about by different stakeholders, even before the project commences, so that the project performance outcomes will not be affected. Another social implication is the role played by project team members, in which efforts have to be put in place to facilitate the use of KM processes, so that teams can align project activities to the general good of their organisations.

A comprehensive KM framework that guides the construction industry on KM implementation is long overdue. This research represents the first of such attempts to view KM from a wider perspective, both in terms of internal and external influences affecting construction organisations. Once the conceptual framework developed is validated, it is expected to bring enormous benefits to different stakeholders.

The purpose of this paper is to draw on the resource-based view of the firm from strategic management and apply it to a study of competitive advantage in the project management context. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is used to examine the factors that constitute strategic characteristics of project management resources and outcomes of the project management process.

This study gathered data from 437 North American project management professionals using an existing survey tool from prior research involving a smaller sample.

The final model derived from CFA demonstrated construct validity, meaning acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. It showed only minor differences from a prior exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The final model consisted of two factors representing valuable project management characteristics, one factor representing rare project management characteristics, one factor representing inimitable project management characteristics, three factors representing organizational support for project management assets, one factor representing project-level performance and one factor representing firm-level performance.

Limitations of the study include self-report bias and the use of a panel for data collection.

This study draws managerial attention to project management characteristics that constitute a source of competitive advantage.

The study validates a survey tool from previous research, reflects few deviations from factor structure of the prior EFA, and sets the stage for future research to elaborate on the conceptual model. It extends understanding of the characteristics of project management assets that lead to a firm’s competitive advantage.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate how knowledge-based organizational support (KOS) influences organizational performance through project management.

Data were obtained from a survey and from archival sources with a time lag for the dependent variable; structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The sample was made up of 106 organizations in Colombia, considering two key respondents from each organization: general manager and project manager.

Results show that KOS is an antecedent of project management and project performance. Furthermore, project management and project performance play a mediating role between KOS and organizational performance.

Research limitations are the following: use of cross-sectional data with a time lag, one single unit of analysis, organizational performance analyzed only from a financial perspective. Despite these limitations, the paper puts forward relevant implications that bridge knowledge management and project management literature by clarifying the conditions under which knowledge organizational support generates a significant impact on organizational performance. Intellectual capital and knowledge management dynamic capabilities play a relevant role in this connection.

The findings have important practical implications: decision-makers are to allocate effectively hard and soft resources to configure a knowledge-based infrastructure, through the development of intellectual capital and knowledge management dynamic capabilities.

The findings are generalizable to projects management in the context of non-government organizations or other social-oriented initiatives.

This study assumes and operationalizes organizational support from a knowledge-based perspective, represented by intellectual capital and knowledge management dynamic capabilities, providing empirical evidence of the way KOS influences organizational performance through project management and project performance.

Effectively handling knowledge is crucial for any organization to survive and prosper in the turbulent environments of the modern era. Leadership is a central element for knowledge creation, acquisition, utilization and integration processes. Based on these considerations, this study aims to offer an overview of the evolution of the literature regarding the knowledge management-leadership relationship published over the past 20 years.

A bibliometric analysis coupled with a systematic literature review were performed over a data set of 488 peer-reviewed articles published from 1990 to 2018.

The authors discovered the existence of four well-polarized clusters with the following thematic focusses: human and relational aspects, systematic and performance aspects, contextual and contingent aspects and cultural and learning aspects. The authors then investigated each thematic cluster by reviewing the most relevant contributions within them.

Based on the bibliometric analysis and the systematic literature review, the authors developed an interpretative framework aimed at uncovering several promising and little explored research areas, thus suggesting an agenda for future knowledge management-leadership research. Some steps of the paper selection process may have been biased by the interpretation of the researcher. The authors addressed this concern by performing a multiple human subject reading process whose reliability was confirmed by a Krippendorf’s alpha coefficient value >0.80.

To the best knowledge, this is the first study to map, systematize and discuss the literature concerned to the topic of the knowledge management-leadership relationship.