Knowledge as an Organizational Asset for Managing Complex Projects: The Case of Naval Platforms

Alberto Cerezo-Narváez, Andrés Pastor-Fernández, Manuel Otero-Mateo, Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez and Francisco Rodríguez-Pecci
Additional contact information
Alberto Cerezo-Narváez: School of Engineering, University of Cadiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain
Andrés Pastor-Fernández: School of Engineering, University of Cadiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain
Manuel Otero-Mateo: School of Engineering, University of Cadiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain
Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez: School of Engineering, University of Cadiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain
Francisco Rodríguez-Pecci: Navantia SME, 11100 San Fernando, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Knowledge management (KM) involves learning from past experiences to avoid or correct scope misalignments, quality deviations, safety problems, time delays and/or cost overruns. KM is frequently materialized as a risk management (RM) plan. An RM plan allows for anticipating, avoiding, mitigating, or reducing potential problems impacting project performance. However, despite their high complementarity, KM and RM are not the same, nor share the same purpose. In the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, managing complex projects involves many KM-related challenges, such as differential competitiveness enhancement and value chain streamlining. Naval platforms are complex projects that require the integration of multiple sources of knowledge and information. They also need to keep on integrating latest digital technology innovations in their production processes. In this context, streamlining the requirements management may become a differential asset for project stakeholders of naval platforms. Namely, enhancing requirements management can make the customers’ needs easier to meet, shorten the projects duration, reduce costs, optimize resources, and allow for higher flexibility. However, requirements management has KM as pre-requisite and RM as consequence. Unfortunately, potential synergies between KM and RM have remained largely unexplored in the project management literature, and so has requirements management as a potential bridge between both concepts. In this paper, a holistic model for shipbuilding organizations linking KM and RM is proposed. The model draws from existing KM and RM models while considering organizational factors, technological platforms, and competitiveness factors. A case study of a naval platform showing the model’s applicability is provided. It is shown how the model can allow shipbuilding companies to sustain a competitive advantage by facilitating more robust decision making in dynamic project environments. Furthermore, the model also facilitates the identification of the companies’ core competences to reach and keep a strong position in current global markets.

Keywords: knowledge management; risk management; intangible asset; competitive advantage; complex projects; project management; configuration management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/885/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/885/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:885-:d:481789

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().