Knowledge Sharing Barriers in Complex Research and Development Projects: an Exploratory Study on the Perceptions of Project Managers

Numerous projects are considered complex because of the number of stakeholders, the diversity of skills, and the uncertainty involved, requiring accurate information retrieval and management of the social interactions between different participants leading to efficient knowledge sharing. This paper reports the findings of an empirical study on knowledge sharing barriers and research and development (R& D) activities that occur in the context of complex project management. The study presents issues, difficulties, and practices acknowledged by project managers related to knowledge sharing and R& D (focused on activities that involve cooperation and collaboration). Particularly, we point out the following major knowledge sharing barriers: codification process, inadequate information technology, lack of initiative and strategy by the workers, and lack of time and resources. We also explained the following practices and issues regarding the collaborative R& D activities: information exchange and retrieval, communication barriers, interdependence of knowledge and skills, and different technical terminologies. We intend to contribute to the understanding of the work carried out in the context of complex projects to improve the management practices and the information technology platforms to support them. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.