Technology-Enhanced Knowledge Management Framework for Retaining Research Knowledge among University Academics

Kraak argues that the establishment of South African universities of technology was the result of political lobbying rather than being informed by a rational process of policy development. This conceptualisation has been largely focused on the development of institutional type rather than on academic substance. Broad notions of the economy, globalisation, knowledge and technology are taken as given and, as such, beyond interrogation. In many ways, universities of technology are being conceptualised as modern universities and this trajectory may be detrimental, particularly since they have to operate within a postmodern context. To create a postmodern university, however, one must use postmodernist approaches and this might be more difficult for the universities of technology than it might be for pure and comprehensive universities. Traditionally, technikons have shied away from anything philosophical or theoretical and there is no guarantee that, in its new guise, things are going to be fundamentally any different. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 21 (4) 2007: pp. 753-763

Organisational knowledge creation is different from individual knowledge creation. Since 1990, the theoretical and empirical study of knowledge creation in organisations revealed that knowledge and the capability to create it is one of the most important sources of a company’s sustainable competitive advantage. The theory of organisational knowledge creation, first presented by Nonaka (Harward Business Review, Nov.–Dec., 96–104, 1991), is a paradigm for managing the dynamic aspects of organisational knowledge creation processes. Its central theme is the SECI model as a knowledge creation process as played out through a continuous dialogue between tacit and explicit knowledge. As it has developed since the early 1990s, it has broadened in scope and is now linked to a huge range of topics, such as leadership styles, organisational forms, cultural aspects and organisational learning. This chapter gives a comprehensive introduction of Nonaka’s SECI model as the core of his theory which remained relatively unchanged, while Nonaka’s knowledge creation theory has evolved. Furthermore, the knowledge creation theory is explained while the SECI model is reviewed from several perspectives. As a business example of its implementation, the organisational application of the model at a German airport is described. This critical evaluation suggests future requirements regarding practical implications of the theory.

The theory of organisational knowledge creation indicates the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge is extremely important in corporate knowledge management efforts. Additionally, in this context, the sharing of tacit knowledge is considered to be a critical component of successful knowledge management initiatives. This paper explores the value of using collaborative technologies as enablers of knowledge management. It primarily focuses on the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge through the use of technologies with hyperlinking and hypermedia capabilities. Organisational issues surrounding the capture of tacit knowledge are also introduced by discussing the essential ingredients of successful knowledge management programs.

South Africa became a co-signatory to the Washington Accord for engineers in 1999, and later a founding co-signatory to the Sydney Accord for technologists in 2001 and the Dublin Accord for technicians in 2002, and plays a leading role in engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper describes the evolution of engineering education in South Africa, the impact of an unprecedented educational transition caused by recent changes in national policy, which might influence mobility and the international recognition of qualifications, and an industry-informed future direction for engineering education at South African universities of technology.Background: It was only in 1968 that the Professional Engineers Act governing the professional registration of engineers was promulgated in South Africa. The formal recognition of other members of the engineering team and associated qualifications, in particular technicians and technologists, began only after the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry into the Training, Use and Status of Engineering Technicians in the Republic of South Africa, commonly known as the Goode Report after the chairman of the committee, R.C.J. Goode, was published in 1978. International recognition was attained only much later, when in 1999 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) became a co-signatory to the Washington Accord for engineers, and later a founding co-signatory to the Sydney and Dublin Accords. These initiatives eased the mobility of engineering practitioners and the recognition of qualifications in co-signatory countries.Purpose: Although the adoption of the recommendations of the Goode Report created a stable environment for the training of the engineering team in the Southern African environment, in December 2012, the Minister of Higher Education and Training approved a revised Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) published in the Government Gazette No. 36003, which is creating a disruptive influence on the qualifications offered by universities of technology, international comparability, and industry expectations. This paper investigates whether the core recommendations of the Goode Report are still relevant, valid, and worth considering during a time when Universities of Technology (UoTs) in South Africa are experiencing an unprecedented transition which may influence mobility and the international recognition of qualifications.Method: A questionnaire, which focused on the expected competencies and attributes required from South African University of Technology (UoT) graduates, was developed. The graduate competencies and attributes were derived from those defined by the International Engineering Alliance. The questionnaire also probed stakeholder views on Work Integrated Learning (WIL), currently a standard component of South African university of technology qualifications. The questionnaire was distributed to 110 stakeholders, and 54% responded.Results: Based on the analysis of the stakeholder questionnaires, it is clear that there is a niche for South African universities of technology to focus on Sydney Accord type qualifications for technologists. Although there was overwhelming support for workplace-based WIL, significant uncertainty regarding long-term industry partnerships to ensure suitable workplace placement for students, emerged.KeywordsAccreditationBaccalaureate institutionsInternational comparabilityDublin AccordEngineering curriculumSydney AccordUniversities of technologyWashington AccordWork Integrated Learning

Central University of Technology (CUT) was established in 1981 in Bloemfontein (Free State, South Africa). CUT has two campuses. The Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment, and Information Technology (FEBIT) is one of four faculties at CUT, with 6042 students and 123 academic Staff. FEBIT contributes to Science, Engineering, and Technology (SET) applied research for the benefit of its host community and beyond. This chapter presents the results of that faculty, from the 22 survey respondents. The main focus of the faculty is on cross-cutting themes, followed by economic issues, environmental issues, and social issues. The contribution is high, and the strength is high. The ranking of the competences shows that Critical thinking and Analysis was ranked the highest, followed by Communication and Use of Media. The ranking of the pedagogical approaches resulted in Lecturing and Project- or Problem-based Learning being ranked the highest, followed by Case Studies. The correlation analysis showed that Supply chain/Life cycle analysis developed the most competences, following by Place-based environmental education, and Participatory Action Research. The competences most developed were Systems thinking, Anticipatory thinking, Justice, responsibility and ethics, and Strategic action.Inter-faculty collaboration, as a means for improving FEBIT’s sustainability contribution should be fostered. To facilitate this, CUT has established six research centres to engage in research along a Multi-, Inter, and Transdisciplinary levels.KeywordsCentral University of TechnologyFaculty of Built Environment and Information TechnologySouth AfricaTeaching sustainabilityContribution to sustainabilityCompetencesPedagogical approachesCorrelation analysis

The main purpose of the paper is to evaluate possibilities provided by organizational knowledge creation theory (Nonaka, 1994) for seeking after knowledge of civil servants. The fundamental task of organization (both, public or private, profit or non-profit) is how efficiently it can deal with information and decisions in an uncertain environment. Information processing is viewed as a problem-solving activity. But innovation, the key form of organizational knowledge creation, cannot be explained in terms of information processing or problem solving but with the process where organization is developing new knowledge to solve problems (Nonaka, 1994: 15). Due to the recent decision of Slovene government to abort the state exam for civil servants we elaborate the question of necessity of the pre-service and in-service training of civil servants and in what manner that training should be performed. Elaborating some experience in the neighborhood countries we try to find some conclusions of the topic. On the other hand we explore the possibilities given by organizational knowledge creation theory in in-service training of civil servants and its implications on choosing the topics of the training.

Tensions between academic and professional staff are still experienced in universities of technology. The article focuses on the mobility and shifting boundaries which appear to be developing in regard to this working relationship at one South African university of technology. The mixed-methods exploratory research involved data gathered in 2018 and in 2021 from both academic and professional staff. The data included findings from staff whose work spans both roles and those who have moved from one role to the other. Findings indicate that professional staff are often drawn into performing teaching and research functions, and yet experience barriers which impede their academic progress. The article argues for more overt recognition and facilitation of this blending of roles, which would seem to be particularly appropriate for universities of technology. No current literature exists on this phenomenon in South African Universities of Technology and this article hopes to fill this gap and initiate this conversation.

This thesis integrates social capital and ‘reasoned action’ theory to construct a theoretical model for investigating the factors which predict an individual’s intention to share tacit knowledge in a University of Technology. It utilizes Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998: 243) definition and conception of social capital. They define social capital as “the sum of the actual and potential resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit”. This study examined tacit knowledge sharing behaviour (i.e., knowledge that is shared between individuals) within the context of social capital. The specific type of tacit knowledge that is being studied relates to work experience ‘know-what’ and ‘know-how’. ‘Know-what’ refers to the basic mastery of a discipline that professionals achieve through education and training. ‘Know-how’ refers to procedural knowledge about a business process and the individual’s capability to perform an action with an understanding of why the action is appropriate in the particular context, (i.e., action skill or applied competence). Specifically, this study examines the relationship between the structural, relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital and the individual’s attitude towards the sharing of tacit knowledge. It further examines the relationship between the individual’s attitude towards tacit knowledge sharing, their perceived norms and perceived behavioural control over the sharing of tacit knowledge (mediating variables) and their intention to share tacit knowledge. It is a case study which consists of a mixed methods research design, incorporating nine research interviews and five hundred and fifty four self administered questionnaires. The theoretical model is examined using structural equation modeling (SEM) and as a result of the findings, the initial model is revised into a set of theoretical models, which are tested using SEM and found to be consistent with the data (i.e., a good fit). The direct, indirect and total effects of the identified predictor (social capital) and mediating variables (‘reasoned action’) on the individual’s intention to share tacit knowledge, in each model, is examined and the results are presented. Each dimension of social capital is found to be significant for predicting the criterion variable ‘attitude towards tacit knowledge sharing’. The individual’s attitude towards tacit knowledge sharing is found to be highly significant for predicting the individual’s intention to share tacit knowledge but the ‘reasoned action’ variables are found to be not as significant, particularly perceived behavioural control over the sharing of tacit knowledge. The results of this study enrich our collective understanding regarding social capital and tacit knowledge sharing behaviour.

Failure of students to complete postgraduate studies is a matter of concern globally to several stakeholders among them academics, postgraduate candidates, government representatives, HEIs administrators, and postgraduate funders. The contemporary terminology for this phenomenon is throughput, regarded as the completion of studies within a minimum or maximum allocated timeframe. Throughput related issues in higher education include the length of time it takes for students to graduate, the students’ success rates, termination of studies and dropping out of the system before graduation or remaining in the system inactively, etc. In the context of South Africa, postgraduate throughput is noticeably lower in Universities of Technology (UoTs) given that research was previously not their primary focus. With reference to the above, this study, aimed to examine the factors influencing the throughput of postgraduates in a South African University of Technology. The aim of the study was achieved by establishing awareness of and adherence to the completion timelines for postgraduate studies, determining the research capacity available for the completion of postgraduate studies and determining the factors hindering the completion of postgraduate studies. To fully appreciate the concept of postgraduate studies and issues associated with postgraduate throughput, the literature on the factors influencing postgraduates’ throughput was reviewed. The theory of Student Integration (Tinto 1975) was employed to guide the present study. Tinto’s theory recommends that the extent of students’ integration into the academic life and social life within academia, and the extent of students’ commitment and diligence to their studies and the university-oriented goals are the symptoms signifying students’ persistence within academia. The study was informed by the post-positivist research paradigm allowing for the combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches in a single study within a survey research design. The population groups targeted for data collection were postgraduate students, academic supervisors, faculties’ research coordinators, and library personnel (librarian). Self-administered semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from postgraduate students and academic supervisors. Data from librarians was collected by means of face-toface semi-structured interviews. The collected quantitative and qualitative data was analysed through descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis, respectively. Analysis through descriptive statistics was limited to frequency counts, percentages, tables, charts, and graphs. Qualitative data results were presented in a narrative form (textual formats). The study findings outlined the importance of awareness of completion timelines, and rules and regulations governing postgraduate studies to throughput. It was, however, clear that there was laxity in terms of adherence to rules and regulations, even though the study could not determine whether the extent of laxity extended to failure to meet completion timelines as the majority of those who responded were still within their candidature. The study also found that there is optimum visibility of the core research capacity (in terms of facilities including library and research support programs, and trained personnel) for throughput and the satisfaction thereof was by and large on the moderate to satisfactory scale. The availability of academic writing skills was reported to be low yet significant to postgraduate throughput. The study confirmed the significance of personal/students, supervisory, and institutional related factors to throughput. The most influential factors were slow feedback; challenges associated with financial resources; lack of readiness to conduct research; lack of commitment to conduct research, lack of research skills; supervisors’ workload, commitments associated with family responsibilities; lack of sound training in research methodologies and methods as well as lack of technical support. The institution has the opportunity for significant improvement regarding the factors hindering the throughput of postgraduates.

Thesis (D. Tech. (Business Administration )) - Central University of Technology, Free State

Gradual increases in student intake (massification) at South African universities have created significant difficulties for both academics and administrative support staff to effectively manage hundreds of students crowded into large lecture halls or classrooms. Large class discourses have been a focus of research for several decades, but none of these studies have investigated the administration of large classes in Universities of Technology in South Africa, nor have they focused on the integration of the experiences of all the principal stakeholders. The study investigated the experiences of students, academics, and administrative support staff in administering large classes, with specific reference to three departments at a selected University of Technology. The study used a mixed methods approach, involving questionnaires to students and lecturers and semi-structured interviews conducted with administrative support staff. The study’s conceptual and theoretical framework was systems theory, enabling an overview of systems of lecturing, tutorials, and administration, as well as academic support systems, which all influence each other. The study findings established the value of systems theory for envisaging a closer coordination between different university respondent groups and operating systems. Results indicated that most academic staff members experience a heavy administrative workload, while secretaries were often not informed as to the nature and extent of their expected administrative duties. The findings also indicated that most students felt that large classes prevented them from receiving individual attention, and that the number of tutors available was insufficient. The study recommends the university to appoint more teaching assistants and tutors to assist academic staff with the large class administrative workload, while various teaching and learning strategies may help to deal more effectively with large classes. More detailed job descriptions should ensure greater awareness of expected support required from secretaries. Moreover, the findings provide academics, administrative staff, and students with insights to collaborative approaches that could address large class challenges effectively, as well as strategies for their administration. While the findings only apply to one university, they will be of interest to other South African universities of technology with similar class sizes.

The research paper explored the barriers hindering the effective transfer and retention of tacit knowledge in postgraduate supervision within South African higher education institutions (HEIs). Extant literature reveals significant challenges, notably the risk of tacit knowledge loss due to a shortage of postgraduate supervisors, high turnover rates, and an ageing demographic amongst these supervisors. The research employed a mixed-method explanatory sequential design, gathering survey data via questionnaires and qualitative insights through interviews with PhD holders serving as postgraduate supervisors at four selected South African HEIs. The survey’s reliability was confirmed with a Cronbach alpha of 0.8, and thematic analysis was performed using NVivo software, version 14. Barriers to tacit knowledge transfer in postgraduate education include cultural differences, silos, poor communication, red tape, insufficient resources, a lack of peer trust, job insecurity, inadequate leadership, rewards and recognition, organisational politics, limited informal interactions, and work overload. Addressing these issues is essential for enhancing the knowledge transfer and retention of tacit supervisory knowledge, thereby reducing knowledge stickiness in HEIs. Institutional barriers impacting the management of such risks and knowledge stickiness in the context of postgraduate supervision remain unexplored in the extant body of knowledge and practice.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) create, disseminate, and share knowledge through relationships involving people, processes, and technologies. Tacit knowledge is difficult to formalize and depends on social context. Its sharing is influenced by individual, organizational, and structural factors, and the knowledge management strategy. The literature suggests that this topic is quite relevant and that there is an evident lack of empirical studies investigating the tacit knowledge sharing in higher education institutions (HEIs). In this context, the main objective of this article is to identify the factors that influence the sharing of tacit knowledge in research groups in higher education institutions (HEIs). Data were collected at a Brazilian public higher education institution with a questionnaire applied to research faculty members. The sample was composed of 255 respondents. The data collected enabled the analysis of a structural equation model. The results reveal that individual, organizational structure, and knowledge management strategy factors are determinants for sharing tacit knowledge in the institution’s research groups.

The effectiveness of web-based learning has garnered significant attention in the global educational landscape, with numerous studies providing invaluable insights to transform education through technology. These research endeavors have generated theoretical frameworks that underpin the implementation and utilization of technology for educational enhancement. However, despite the remarkable contributions of these studies, concerns persist regarding the adept management of web-based Learning Management Systems (LMS). Hence, this paper addresses this critical concern by conducting an analysis of LMS management at a South African University of Technology. Utilising a mixed-methods approach, this study combines qualitative interviews with lecturers and quantitative analysis involving students to comprehensively assess the management of web-based LMS. By triangulating these diverse data sources, this research offers a holistic perspective on LMS management, thereby enriching the understanding of this multifaceted field. The findings of this study indicate that the University of Technology has made significant strides in adopting and implementing web-based learning technologies via Think Learn Zone (TLZ) Moodle platform. However, certain challenges were identified. Notably, inconsistencies in lecturer training, concerns about accessibility, and the demand for enhanced technical support for students. Moreover, the study highlights that while the LMS serves as a pivotal tool for disseminating educational content, its effectiveness hinges on the synergy between administrative decisions and faculty practices.

This study examines communication as a vital competency for executive management in South African universities of technology. Interviews with executives reveal that communication consistently amplifies other managerial skills, functioning as a multiplier competency across both routine and crisis contexts, and is therefore essential for effective higher education leadership. This exploratory study adopts a qualitative design, using semi-structured online interviews held through videoconferencing with 13 executive management members of UoTs. This approach provides a secure and flexible means of collecting real-time audio-visual perspectives from participants, closely resembling face-to-face interviews while maintaining compliance with COVID-19 safety measures. To examine management competencies in depth, the study applies Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA). Communication competency emerged as a core multiplier competency for executive management in universities of technology. In normal operations, it strengthens leadership, decision-making, negotiation, and accountability, while in crises, it reinforces risk management, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and stakeholder reassurance. It is therefore indispensable for effective leadership across both stable and turbulent contexts. This study highlights communication as a pivotal “multiplier” competency for executive management in universities of technology, enhancing both routine and crisis leadership functions. Its dual-context impact—strengthening decision-making, accountability, and stakeholder engagement under normal operations, while supporting risk management and problem-solving during crises—offers novel insight. These findings underscore the strategic value of developing communication skills to reinforce multiple leadership competencies and promote resilient, adaptive management.