Abstract
Construction is a knowledge-intensive industry. However, the majority of knowledge management research focuses on corporate and managerial levels rather than on constructions sites. Sites are where money is made or lost, and decisions made which impact expenditure, efficiency and productivity. To support this macro-or organisational-level research, this paper aims to develop insight at the micro or site level, to help inform knowledge management decisions made at corporate level. It reports the findings of a case study that examined knowledge management in operation on a small civil engineering project in north-west England. Data, including participant observation, unstructured interviews and project documentation, were analysed to explore the creation, flow and transfer of knowledge throughout the project. Complex relationships existed between explicit and tacit knowledge, while predicted and unpredicted knowledge gains could also be identified alongside 'aspirational' knowledge. A reliance on 'pending' knowledge to make decisions that influence project performance suggests improved knowledge management within a more integrated project team would be beneficial. Knowledge management was found to be limited by the tacit nature of much of the knowledge generated on the project, and the lack of formal feedback into an organisational knowledge management system.