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The paper focuses on the contribution which adequate organisational learning and innovation can make to the enhancement, development and improvement of professional expertise in the construction domain. The paper, based on research undertaken within the European (fourth framework)‐funded CONDOR project, explores the role of evaluation in a business process re‐engineering initiative and its relationship with organisational learning and innovation. The paper presents the evaluation of the implementation of a business process re‐engineering project in three case studies in the construction industry. The implementation of the BPR project was based on an eight‐stage BPR methodology. The participating companies were asked to evaluate the implementation, describe the decisions made in order to adapt to the change process and analyse the potential benefits that they expect in terms of business performance improvement, organisational effectiveness and user acceptability. Finally, this paper discusses the evaluation results of the implementation of a business process re‐engineering model in three case studies in order to identify links with organisational learning and innovation.

The purpose of the paper is to provide a review of knowledge management (KM) literature by adapting and extending McElroy's KM generations model.

The paper draws from a range of KM research published in the academic and trade literature. An interpretive stance is adopted to provide a holistic understanding and interpretation of organizational KM research and related knowledge management systems (KMS) and models.

To be effective organizations need not only to negotiate their migration from a knowledge sharing (first generation) to a knowledge creation (second generation) culture, but also to create sustained organizational and societal values. The latter form the third generation KM and represent key challenges faced by modern organizations. A true value creation culture is nurtured through a blended approach that factors a number of perspectives to KM, including human networks, social capital, intellectual capital, technology assets, and change processes.

The interpretive approach adopted throughout the review is limited to, and focused on, understanding the implementation and organizational implications of KM initiatives and technology.

While value creation focuses on the organizational and societal impact of knowledge management, the paper describes how human networks, social capital, intellectual capital, technology assets, and change processes emerge as essential conditions to enable knowledge value creation.

Explores the need for a business process re‐engineering methodology and presents a critique of the existing methodologies. The identified weaknesses served as a basis for the development of a new eight‐stage BPR methodology which was implemented and evaluated within three European construction companies. Summarises these stages, highlighting the need for a more integrated approach to organisational change where the human and organisational issues are incorporated in the implementation of the BPR initiative.

The paper is based on research carried out within the Condor project funded under the European ESPRIT programme. Condor is a partnership between English, French and Swedish construction companies with aims and objectives of defining the working practices, processes, techniques, tools and technical infrastructure to allow the construction industry to progress from its current position towards a large scale, computer integrated industry. The selection, design and implementation of a new information technology system involves inevitably many technical issues but it must also meet user and organisational requirements. A generic model for business process re‐engineering was produced based on research results in order to facilitate Condor’s implementation to participating companies.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a clearer picture of the first establishment of school libraries in Kuwait. In addition, the paper explores the development of the school library between 1911 and 1962.

The paper adopts a qualitative research strategy. The interviews and documentation techniques have been utilized to gather data about the subject.

The findings traced the first appearance of the school library in Kuwait back to 1944. It showed that the development of the library encountered major difficulties.

The unique study reveals a branch of Kuwaiti education history hitherto concealed from its people, where the recognition of other disciplines in the field and the need for further study emerges.

The paper aims to explore the role of knowledge management systems (KMS) in promoting value creation in the construction sector.

An action research methodology using a multiple case study approach, which includes participant observation and semi‐structured interviews.

The findings indicate that KMS promote value creation when they embed and nurture the social conditions that bind and bond team members together. Also, to be effective KMS should be incorporated within a change management programme that promotes a “participatory” type of culture while taking into account the team‐based structure and discipline‐oriented nature of the construction industry. Therefore, much more consideration should be given to organisational change issues prior to deployment of KMS.

The study is limited to organisations from the construction industry, but can be generalised to organisations from other sectors that exhibit similar characteristics.

The findings can be used to guide management teams in deploying KMS to foster value creation as part of a wider change management programme.

While related research tends to adopt an objectivist or subjectivist approach to knowledge management (KM), the present research argues that a third approach is required where issues related to technology, culture, and organisation must be blended successfully to address complex organisational barriers to effective KM leading to value creation.

This paper aims to review the status of development of building information modelling (BIM), its trends and themes across the six continents of the world.

A total of 914 journal articles sought from the search engine of Web of Science (WOS) based on the country/region option of the WOS to group them into continents. A best-fit approach was then applied in selecting the suitable software programmes for the scientometric analysis and comparisons and deductions were made.

The findings revealed that there are differences in the development of BIM across the six continents of the world. South America and Africa are lagging in the BIM research and Australia and Asia are growing, whilst Europe and North America are ahead. In addition, there exist differences in the research themes and trends in these continents as against the single view presented in extant studies.

This study introduced a new approach to carry out a comparative and taxonomic review and has provided both academic researchers and industrial practitioners with a clear status of development of BIM research and the trend across the six continents of the world.