Interrelationship between big data and knowledge management: an exploratory study in the oil and gas sector
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between big data and knowledge management (KM).
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative research methodology and a case study approach was followed by conducting nine semi-structured interviews with open-ended and probing questions.
Findings
Useful predictive knowledge can be generated through big data to help companies improve their KM capability and make effective decisions. Moreover, combination of tacit knowledge of relevant staff with explicit knowledge obtained from big data improvises the decision-making ability.
Research limitations/implications
The focus of the study was on oil and gas sector, and, thus, the research results may lack generalizability.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need of exploring the relationship between big data and KM which has not been discussed much in the literature.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The work presented in this study was conducted at Knowledge Management Innovation and Research Center (KMIRC), Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the research office of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for the support of the research work under project code 1-904Z.
Citation
Sumbal, M.S., Tsui, E. and See-to, E.W.K. (2017), "Interrelationship between big data and knowledge management: an exploratory study in the oil and gas sector", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 180-196. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2016-0262
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited