UTILISING PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TO OVERCOME KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER CHALLENGES

FACED BY FAMILY OWNED HOTELS IN MALAYSIA

BY DANIA MOHAMAD

BSC 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Rationale

• Aims and Objectives

• Brief Review of Key Literature

• Background Information

• Methodology

• Challenges and Limitations

• Q & A

• References

RATIONALE

• Uncertainty of family business owners with the transfer of knowledge to future generations (Bencsik,

2016)

• Innovation, knowledge and firm performance are inter-related. Therefore, this suggests an analysis of

innovation and knowledge in family firms would be valuable (Price et al., 2013)

• To create awareness for Personal Knowledge Management – direct link between personal effectiveness of

individual to organisations, suggest a positive effect (Jain, 2010)

• Encouraged to analyse a more appropriate platform and methodology for knowledge transfer whilst taking

into account of family dynamics (Betancourt et al., 2014; Jalonen, 2014)

• Lack of research regarding family businesses in Malaysia, leaving big parts unexplored (Abdullah, Hamid

and Hashim, 2011 cited in Abdul Aziz, 2014)

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim for this research paper is to investigate whether utilising personal knowledge management would assist family owned hotels in Malaysia to overcome knowledge transfer challenges.

The objectives to support this aim are as follows:

1) To observe Knowledge Management within family owned hospitality businesses.

2) To establish the knowledge transfer challenges faced by family owned hospitality businesses

3) To determine the influence Personal Knowledge Management has in overcoming knowledge-

transfer challenges in family owned hospitality businesses.

LITERATURE REVIEW

• Family Businesses

• Game theory (Blumentritt et al., 2013; Michael-Tsabari and Weiss, 2015)

• Knowledge Management

• Knowledge Transfer

- The SECI model (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) & the newly adapted frameworks

(Andreeva & Ikhikchik, 2011; Finley and Sathe, 2013)

• Personal Knowledge Management

Existing Empirical Studies

• The use of Knowledge Management and Transfer in family businesses (Janiunaite et al, 2013; Rodrigues et al., 2014)

• The use of Personal Knowledge Management (Pokojski, n.d, Liu, 2011; Zumitzavan and Mumi, 2014; Mittelmann, 2016)

The Process of Organisational Knowledge Creation (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

• Family businesses often underestimated for their roles in the economy (IMD, 2013)

- Due to their “dark side”, involving internal conflicts which may lead to family business breakups (PwC, 2015)

- Communication in Asian families could be the crucial missing link, as they tend to avoid difficult conversations

related to the succession of their business (Kenyon-Rouvinez et al., cited in IMD, 2014)

• Unique – possess an interrelated nature between their dynamic relationships and the business itself (Kraiczy, 2013)

• It is strongly suggested that Personal knowledge management should be built on the foundation of technology (Barth, 2004 cited in Agnihotri and Troutt, 2009)

• Majority of family businesses possess strong resistance towards technology (Dessi et al., 2012 cited in Therin, 2013)

• Opportunity to discover from the findings how families transfer their knowledge

METHODOLOGY

Approach

• Qualitative Method

Purpose: To further understand the justification of actions, evaluate efficiency, based on

theories and strategies intended to understand the complex nature of family businesses

Sampling and Data Collection

• In depth, face to face semi-structured interviews

• Pre-arranged set of open-ended questions

• Snowball sampling (through family contacts and acquaintances)12 participants

Owner-managers, employees

[Family and non family members]

CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS

• Reliability of information (willingness of participants)

• Confidentiality of information shared

• Response may be biased considering the various factors the participant may be experiencing at the time, could influence the research findings

• The information may not represent the family business as a whole

• No such thing as perfect research (Costello, 2003)

NEXT STEPS

• Analysis of Data (Thematic Analysis)

• Discussion Chapter

• Conclusion and Recommendations

• Re-evaluation of paper

Thematic analysis linked to the objectives of:

1) Current Knowledge Management in family owned hospitality businesses.

2) The knowledge transfer challenges faced by family owned hospitality businesses

3) The role of Personal Knowledge Management in overcoming knowledge transfer challenges in family

owned hospitality businesses.

ISSUES TO DISCUSS (Q & A)

● What would be the suitable approaches to

ensure trust with the respondents?

(sensitive areas)

● Would there be alternatives to obtain

valuable information from the respondents?

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