Title: Collaborative knowledge management: case studies from ship design

Authors: Marina Z. Solesvik

Addresses: Bodo Graduate School of Business, 8049, Stord/Haugesund University College, Bjornsonsgate 45, 5528, Haugesund, Norway

Abstract: The recent increase in information and knowledge flows within the shipbuilding industry, due to the implementation of computer-aided design and tougher market requirements for ship design, generates a need for effective collaboration between ship designers, shipowners, shipyards, suppliers, classification societies, and other supply chain partners. This paper uses a comparative case study approach to explore how two different ship design firms have organised cooperative work during the design process, and how they employed computer-aided collaborative tools for knowledge management. This study will be interesting for practitioners from shipbuilding and ship design firms, and scholars of knowledge management and applications of collaborative knowledge management tools in organisations.

Keywords: knowledge management; KM; collaborative design; interfirm collaboration; ICT; information technology; communications technology; ship design; information flows; knowledge flows; shipbuilding industry; CAD; computer-aided design; market requirements; ship designers; shipowners; shipyards; suppliers; ship classification; classification societies; ships; SCM; supply chain management; cooperative work; cooperation; design processes; supply chain partners; collaborative tools; Norway; business information systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2011.041788

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2011 Vol.8 No.2, pp.131 - 145

Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article