Giannaris, Constantinos

c.giannaris@lse.ac.uk

Knowledge Creation and Organisational Change: the case of a Greek petrochemical company

The complex nature of knowledge processes and organisational change as issues of concern to organisations underpins the value of undertaking in-depth in-situ research that embraces these themes in a more holistic manner. The thesis aspires to contribute to the literature by improving understanding of an issue that appears somewhat underdeveloped and under-explored, specifically: 'how organisational change influences knowledge creation'.

This study proposes an approach to inquiry that is exploratory, case-based and interpretative, for the examination of the multifaceted process of knowledge creation. Qualitative field data are collected and interpreted through the theoretical lens of the constructionist perspective of Nonaka's unified model of organisational knowledge creation. A case research strategy is adopted due to the context-specific nature of the knowledge creation process, which suggests a method that will capture the natural setting.

The case study is undertaken over a two-year period in a typical project-based organisation: the maintenance division of the largest industrial and commercial enterprise in the Greek petrochemical industry. This also provides an opportunity to consider a different cultural perspective from the norm, namely a southern European country.

Supervisor: Professor Bob Galliers, PhD

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