Analysing knowledge management frameworks for an explosives manufacturing company in South Africa

Abstract

The explosives manufacturing industry in South Africa is small, diverse and highly competitive. Knowledge Management (KM) is vital in maintaining a competitive advantage in this industry by transforming tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. The main benefit of a KM framework is that it assists an organisation in implementing a process to convert tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. The first component of a KM framework comprises Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and their associated KM enablers, which provide the supporting structure for KM implementation in an organisation. The second component of a KM framework comprises KM practices that assist with knowledge transfer in an organisation. This study focused on developing a KM framework for an explosives manufacturing company in South Africa by identifying and testing four CSFs and their associated KM enablers. The study further identified and tested fifteen KM practices under five KM adoption approaches. The research employed a quantitative, deductive approach to evaluate the importance of KM enablers and practices in an explosives manufacturing company in South Africa. The study's sample included 1,054 employees across four production sites in three South African provinces. An online survey questionnaire collected the data. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysed the relationships between the independent variables (KM enablers and KM practices) and the dependent variable (KM implementation and Knowledge transfer). Based on the study's findings, a conceptual KM framework was developed for an explosives manufacturing company in South Africa.