Integrating Knowledge Management Processes with Total Quality Management Principles in the Construction Industry: Meta Review, Gap Analysis and Scientometric Analysis

Abstract

A crucial component of creating a quality culture is knowledge management (KM), and well-known quality frameworks frequently stress the significance of KM for total quality management (TQM). In effect, KM and TQM are techniques that are closely related to the more general idea of organizational development and performance. The goal of this review is to investigate the relationship between KM and TQM and their impact on construction project delivery. A systematic review of 25 articles from 2001-2022 was conducted. The Key stages in the review include clarification of aims and objectives in the protocol, finding the relevant peer-reviewed journals, collecting data, assessing study quality, synthesizing evidence and interpreting findings. The findings of the study revealed that TQM has a synergistic role in knowledge creation through documents and manuals that specify the principles and action plans of TQM. On the other hand, there are major differences in how TQM and KM are implemented across different industries. In the process of creating knowledge, there was an effective and significant connection between leadership, employee empowerment, customer focus, benchmarking, and information technology. While KM is based on creating a culture that supports knowledge creation and sharing, TQM practices such as strategic planning and human resource management have a positive impact on KM activities like knowledge acquisition, distribution, and application. KM initiatives pursue individual quality in knowledge sharing and creation. Knowledge acquisition processes can be the subject of quality systems as knowledge dissemination can also be the subject of quality culture. Further, 981 academic documents on the topic were retrieved from Publish or Perish database within the period of 2000-2022. Afterward, co-occurrence and network visualization analysis were carried out to look at the patterns of study interconnections. As a result, relevant key words, network of terms co-occurrences with 73 out of 4506 keywords, 1153 links, and total link strength of 2760 were revealed. The scientometric analysis revealed a strong link between knowledge, total quality management, performance, management process and approach. These keywords attracted more attention in literature during the period.