STEPS: a knowledge management maturity roadmap for corporate sustainability

Abstract

Purpose: The paper seeks to focus on the role of knowledge management in promoting corporate sustainability in the construction industry context. It proposes a maturity roadmap – STEPS to facilitate the implementation of a knowledge management strategy. Design/methodology/approach: Two research methods were used. The first consisted of a postal questionnaire sent to the top 170 UK construction firms consisting of engineering design and construction contractor firms. The organisations were selected because they were considered the most influential organisations in the UK construction sector. The second research method involved 28 case study interviews with eight construction firms to investigate their approach to knowledge management and performance improvement. The results of the questionnaire survey and the case studies were used to develop the STEPS maturity roadmap. Findings: The paper found that knowledge management is inextricably linked to corporate sustainability, but a methodical approach is required for successful knowledge management implementation. With this in mind, the STEPS maturity roadmap was developed to provide a structured approach to implementing and benchmarking knowledge management efforts. Practical implications: This will allow companies to understand where they fall within the STEPS maturity roadmap and to devise a strategy to be developed to attain higher levels of knowledge management maturity. Originality/value: This paper provides a mechanism for organisations to benchmark their knowledge management activities and to develop a knowledge management strategy that would improve their activities.