1

The success or failure of KM

programs depends on the presence

of numerous factors. Developing

the right human capital resources

(knowledge, skills, and abilities) and

providing the necessary instruments,

following systematic processes and

securing a healthy environment are

among the main requirements for

KM success. This brief assesses the

performance of KM programs in

Dubai’s public sector by identifying

drivers for and barriers to KM. It

applies a framework developed

by Holsapple and Joshi (2000) to

assess the extent to which the

current orientations and practices

of Dubai’s public organizations

efectively institutionalize KM. Policy

recommendations are directed to

heads or directors of KM in order to

identify and remedy weaknesses in

their current programs.

IntroductionKnowledge management has recently emerged as an important issue in the

search for more sustainable performance in public and private sector entities, as

well as in the development and growth of GCC societies as a whole. Economic

and institutional performance problems have triggered a serious debate about

the capacity of both government entities and private sector irms to develop,

incorporate and manage human capital resources in a more strategic and

sustainable manner. TGCC countries face additional problems, including the

development and employment of local talent, reliance on expatriate knowledge

and the potential for losing this knowledge when they exit local irms, and the

need to further develop efective institutions capable of serving the public.

Efective KM is necessary for realizing the potential of human capital for

sustainable performance in work organizations as well as in society at large.

Critical Factors for KM Success Knowledge Management is an ongoing, persistent, purposeful process that

enables organizations to create, select, organize, conserve, disseminate

and transfer knowledge to achieve strategic objectives. The success of KM

initiatives is strongly dependent on some critical factors that must exist within

the implementing organizations. A broad and growing body of literature has

identiied three broad sets of factors that directly and indirectly determine

the fate of a KM project. These are managerial inluences, resource inluences

and environmental inluences (Holsapple and Joshi 2000). Each of these main

factors, as demonstrated in Figure 1, is comprised of several components that

contribute to the overall KM process. The brief applies this framework to the

context of Dubai’s public sector.

Enablers and Barriers to Efective Knowledge Management: The Case of Dubai’s Public Sector1 By Mhamed Biygautane and Khalid Al-Yahya

Policy Brief No. 25 April 2011

1 This is the third in a series of policy briefs on knowledge management (KM). These briefs rely on

primary data that have been collected from the government of Dubai. First, semi-structured and

in-depth interviews were conducted in several major entities, including Dubai Electricity and Water

Authority (DEWA), Dubai Courts, Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Roads and

Transportation Authority (RTA) and Dubai Police. Second, a comprehensive survey tool was developed

and administered to all government entities in Dubai, with a response rate of 66%, including those

which had been previously interviewed. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the irst time a study on

knowledge management of this magnitude has been conducted in Dubai and the UAE.

Organizations surveyed include the following: Community Development Authority, Dubai Customs,

The Executive Council, Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai Courts, General Civil

Aviation Authority, Department of Finance, Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Public Prosecution,

Islamic Afairs and Charitable Activities Department, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry,

Road and Transportation Authority, Department of Economic Development, Financial Audit

Department, Hamdan Bin Mohammed E-university, Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME

Development, Dubai Ambulance, and Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2

Source: Adapted from Hoisapple and Joshi 2000

Leadership

Organizational culture,

Trust, Governmental

Social and economic

Financial

Technological

Human

Managerial inluences

Resource Inluences Environmental Inluences

ControlCoordination

Figure 1: Factors Inluencing the Management of Knowledge

Critical Factors for KM Success Knowledge Management is an ongoing, persistent,

purposeful process that enables organizations to

create, select, organize, conserve, disseminate and

transfer knowledge to achieve strategic objectives.

The success of KM initiatives is strongly dependent

on some critical factors that must exist within the

implementing organizations. A broad and growing

body of literature has identiied three broad sets of

factors that directly and indirectly determine the fate

of a KM project. These are managerial inluences,

resource inluences and environmental inluences

(Holsapple and Joshi 2000). Each of these main

factors, as demonstrated in Figure 1, is comprised of

several components that contribute to the overall

KM process. The brief applies this framework to the

context of Dubai’s public sector.

Managerial InluencesManagerial inluences are the dynamic drivers

that fuel the implementation of KM within the

organization, and exercise the leading role during

the process. These inluences comprise three

elements, which difer in their importance and

functionality.

Leadership

A study conducted by Anantatmula (2008) inds

that selecting a capable KM leader is the irst step

organizations should take, even before putting

together a plan or strategy for a KM program. The

important role of the leader resides in obtaining

the necessary support from senior management,

and in constructing the human and technological

infrastructures needed for the KM project. Also,

the leader creates an atmosphere that empowers

and incentivizes individuals to share knowledge,

ensuring that required tools are available and

function according to the needs of the organization.

Survey data provides a clear image of the role

leadership plays in KM programs within Dubai’s

public sector. In our survey of Dubai’s public sector,

organizations were asked to specify whether they

have any of these elements in place. As Figure

2 shows, 47% of surveyed organizations do not

currently have a central unit for KM programs.

Also, 53% do not have chief KM oicers and 62%

do not have KM champions. Unfortunately, these

results show that government entities in Dubai are

not fully aware of the instrumental role leadership

plays in driving KM programs and establishing the

right environment that will allow them to function

efectively.

3

Note: Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

Yes No, planned in next 3 years

Stronglyagree

Agree Neither Agreenor Disagree

Disagree StronglyDisagree

No

Figure 2: The Role of Leadership in Dubai’s KM Projects

Figure 3: Role of Managers in Coordiantion of KM Projects

Some organizations indicated in interviews that they

had clear direction guided by efective leadership. For

example, RTA has nine knowledge champions to lead

the implementation of knowledge sharing processes.

These champions integrate with the employees and

clarify the concept to them, facilitating knowledge

sharing and ensuring that the organization works

to make KM an integrative part of the organization.

Similarly, Dubai Courts have 11 administrative directors

who oversee progress of the KM programs and meet

annually to discuss their achievements and progress.

Coordination

Efective coordination streamlines processes and

establishes order among the diferent activities and

resources that are involved in the KM process. The

direct involvement of KM managers in this process is

vital. Managers’ spending more time disseminating

and facilitating the low of knowledge to staf creates

a platform whereby an organization’s members have

a clear view of the KM process. Moreover, this fosters

knowledge sharing and enables positive interaction

among managers and employees.

Central unit for K.M

Managers spend more time

disseminating info to staf

Managers facilitate low of info to staf

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

34%

18%

41%

20%18%

0.02%

24%

43%

21%

7%

0.02%

19%

33%

14%21% 18%

Central K.M. Oicer Knowledge champions

47%53%

62%

4

Use of indicators to assess K.M

practices

Balance Scorecard

Written feedback on K.M

achievements

Comparison with other

organizations

No indicators in place

Figure 4: Assessment of KM Performance in Dubai’s Public Sector

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

14%

39%

27%

39%

16%

0.02%

As Figure 3 demonstrates, 43% of respondents

strongly agree that managers spend more time

disseminating knowledge among their staf, and

41% agree that managers also facilitate the low of

knowledge to their staf. This indicates that these

organizations have plans for coordination.

Control

Control addresses the need to ensure the availability

of knowledge resources in adequate quality and

quantity, as well as the necessary measures of

information security (Holsapple and Joshi 2000). KM

programs are responsible for creating knowledge that

is accurate, coherent and valid. Moreover, it should

be protected from loss and maintained in a way that

makes it accessible, yet protected from unauthorized

use.

Therefore, KM programs’ performance should be

continuously subjected to evaluation. Government

entities in Dubai use diferent instruments to

assess the performance of their KM programs.

Approximately 39% indicated that they use

international KM best practices’ indicators to assess

their practices and to compare between their

Stronglyagree

Agree Partially agree Do not agree

Figure 5: Perceived Dangers of Sharing Knowledge

Unauthorized access to

data by the public or others

Fear of job loss because of sharing

knowledge

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

11%

21%

31%

37%

11%

44%

27%

18%

5

performance and that of other organizations.

Moreover, 27% of respondents rely on written

feedback on KM achievements, while only 14% use

balance scorecard for that purpose.

With regard to concerns about the willingness

to share knowledge, Figure 5 shows that 11% of

respondents strongly agree and 21% agree that

they were worried about losing their jobs as a

result of sharing knowledge. Likewise, 11% strongly

agree and 44% agree that they were worried about

unauthorized access to data by the public or other

competing organizations.

These results assure that the environment of these

organizations does not threaten the security of

employees if they share sensitive knowledge, but

they have not established the necessary instruments

to protect their data from unauthorized use.

Resource Inluences Successful implementation of KM initiatives requires

inancial and human capacities. These allow for

the establishment of the human, technological

and institutional capabilities necessary for the

KM program to successfully operate. Public

organizations should, therefore, assign a suicient

annual budget for KM, and since knowledge is

“a source locked in the human mind” (Kim and

Mauborgne 1998), it is imperative to create the

necessary conditions and incentivizing mechanisms

that will encourage individuals within an

organization to share their knowledge.

Financial resources

The advent of the global inancial crisis has

signiicantly afected the Government of Dubai,

resulting in cuts in government spending and a

reordering of its priorities. One of the crucial areas

afected by budget cuts is KM, potentially afecting

the overall performance and outcomes of its

programs. Interviews provided a clear image of the

KM budgetary issues that most public organizations

have faced since the start of the inancial crisis.

For example, half of the interviewed government

agencies stated that the budget they allocated for

KM programs was signiicantly cut due to budgetary

restrictions caused by the crisis. This limits their

capability to organize workshops, provide training

for their employees and even translate KM material

from English to Arabic.

Technological resources

After capturing and codifying data comes the task

of documenting and storing it. The availability of

the necessary technological instruments for this

purpose is an important element for the overall

success of KM programs.

Survey indings indicate that Dubai Government

entities rely on sophisticated IT systems to store the

captured knowledge. As Figure 6 demonstrates,

54% of respondents stated that they systematically

use data warehouse and data mining tools to foster

knowledge storing and sharing, 49% use Dubai

Government Intranet for knowledge sharing and

No No, planned for next 3 years

Rarely Occasionally Systematically

Figure 6: IT Systems for KM in Dubai’s Public Sector

Dubai Government intranet

Data warehouse/ data mining

Online collaboration tools

Lessons learned databases

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

30%24%

14%

2%5%

11%8%14%

5%0% 0%

24% 24% 24%

49% 47%

14%

54%

25%

11%

Note: Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

6

Very successful Successful Somewhat successful

Poorly utilized

Figure 7: Training Advances Staf Skills and Knowledge

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

17%

54%

27%

7%

communication, and 47% systematically use other

online collaboration tools. However, 38% do not

use “lessons’ learned databases,” which store the

experiences of employees and the ways in which they

solve problems they face at work.

In fact, the perception of KM in most organizations

is that KM is synonymous with Knowledge

Management Systems (KMS). Most employees have a

limited and narrow conception of KM, believing that

the implementation of state-of-the-art technological

systems to store knowledge is all what KM is about,

overlooking the other structural, cultural and

managerial elements without which any KM program

is likely to fail to bring the desired outcomes.

Human resources

The creation of an environment and mechanisms

that allow employees to easily share knowledge is

among the main drivers of successful KM programs.

On the question about HRD efectiveness, results

(Figure 7) indicate that 54% of respondents

consider the training and skill building provided

Yes, systematically

Yes, occasionally

No, planned for next 3 years

Yes, but rarely No

Figure 8: Techniques for Transferring Knowledge

Transfer of knowledge from more to less experienced

Shadowing employees

Formal trainings related to K.M

Informal traning related to K.M

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

12%

40%46%

27%

35%28%

20%

36%

7%12%

17%14%

5%

17%21%14%

22%15%

2%

12%

Note: Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

7

Sharing knowledge is not a criterion for

assesing performance

DGEP Monetary incentives

No incentives

Figure 9: Incentives for Sharing Knowledge within Organization

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

65%

34%25%

39%

Intr. Organizat. like UN.WB

Other Emriates’ govt entities

Dubai Govt. Excellence Program

Federal govt. entities

Dubai govt. entities

Note: Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

by the organizations to be successful and 17% very

successful in enhancing staf skills, abilities and

knowledge.

To transfer and share knowledge, government

entities in Dubai, with varying degrees, experiment

with several techniques such as shadowing and,

to a lesser extent, formal and informal meetings to

secure the transfer and sharing of knowledge among

their employees. For example, Figure 8 shows that

46% of respondents seek to systematically transfer

knowledge from more to less experienced staf, while

40% use shadowing employees as a form of capturing

their tacit knowledge and beneiting from it.

However, only 27% and 12% respectively indicated

that they systematically organize formal and informal

trainings related to KM. In fact, the lack of awareness

of KM and its importance, which is one of the main

challenges that government entities face, can

be explained by this lack of suicient formal and

informal trainings.

As for providing adequate incentives to encourage

employees to share knowledge, survey data (Figure

9) shows that 39% of respondents conirm the

lack of incentives in place for sharing knowledge.

Figure 10: Governmental Inluences on KM Programs in Dubai

No inluence

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

46% 44%38%

2% 5%

38%

48%

71%

48%

36%

15%8%

14%

50%

58%

Some inluence Strong inluence

8

More importantly, 65% of indicated that sharing

knowledge is not a criterion for assessing individual

performance of employees. The Dubai Government

Excellence Program (DGEP) seems to have a positive

inluence on employees’ sharing of knowledge, as

34% consider it a motivating factor. With regard to

monetary incentives, only 25% indicated their use as

motivation to share knowledge.

It is diicult to aspire for an efective KM program in

the absence of incentivizing mechanisms. Employees

will have no reason to share what they know if their

eforts are not appreciated and rewarded, especially

when this is accompanied by a fear of losing one’s job

if too much information is shared.

Environmental InluencesManagerial and resource inluences are internal

factors that afect the KM success. Environmental

inluences are, however, typically external and

not necessarily under the direct control of the

organization’s management. In the public sector,

political inluence and macro-institutional

arrangements can limit the scope of knowledge

sharing and put a ceiling on what can be shared, both

inside and outside of the organization. This is more

prevalent in the MENA region, where governments

are either very sensitive about sharing information

and knowledge or unable to do it because of poor

and fragmented inter-governmental systems.

The social and cultural environment in which an

organization operates is also an external factor

that can inluence knowledge sharing culture, as

illustrated below.

Governmental inluence

KM in Dubai’s public sector is subject to pressure

from various governmental bodies and programs.

Interestingly, as demonstrated in Figure 10, 58%

of respondents indicated that the DGEP was the

main driver for government entities to consider

KM programs. The same results are drawn from the

interviews with the organizations that started to

experiment with KM.

Seeking to strengthen cooperation and coordination

with other local and federal authorities also serves

as a driver to adopt KM systems. International

organizations do not seem to be signiicantly

inluential, as only 15% of respondents said their role

was strongly inluential and 38% said that they have

some inluence.

Very important Important Somewhat important

Not important at all

Figure 11: Important Factors for Improving KM Programs

High priority by top

management

involvement of the

staf

Rewards system for

sharing knowledge

Allocation of

suicient funds

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0

Note: Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

9

Other Important Factors Surveyed organizations were asked to indicate the

importance of some practices in improving the

performance of their KM programs. This shows a

clear image of what government entities in Dubai

should focus on in order to have a successful KM

program that meets their expectations. As Figure

11 demonstrates, respondents agree that allocation

of suicient funds, reward systems, involvement of

staf, and management support and commitment

were important requisites for KM systems to

succeed. In particular, direct involvement of staf in

implementing and running the KM projects scored

the highest, with 56%. Allocating suicient funds

(53%) and high priority given by top management

came second and third as important factors.

Challenges for Knowledge ManagementPeople, who constitute the main foundation of

Knowledge Management, are also the major

obstacles to its implementation. A signiicant corpus

of academic papers and consultancy irms’ reports

has addressed the challenges inhibiting knowledge

sharing in both public and private organizations.

Two key elements have been commonly identiied,

especially in the context of the Arab world:

organizational culture, and trust among individuals

and institutions. Each of these factors has signiicant

inluence on the adoption and sustainability of KM.

Organizational culture

Numerous studies have found that knowledge

and organizational culture are inextricably linked.

Culture shapes the understanding of knowledge

and its dissemination within the organizations and

groups of individuals. A cultural context that does

not emphasize the value of knowledge, or hinders its

utilization through greater participation in decision

making and vertical interaction among social and

organizational groups, will certainly have diiculties

in implementing KM programs and reaping their

beneits.

Government entities in Dubai struggle to provide

the appropriate stage for sharing knowledge sharing

and spreading awareness about its importance for

the individuals and the organizations as a whole.

Our interviews found that there was considerable

resistance from some groups towards of the idea

of KM on the one hand, and to share what they

know with others on the other. Figure 12 shows that

middle management, administrators and oicers

ranked highest as the main source of resistance

within government organizations by respectively

scoring 31% and 30%.

Moreover, 50% of respondents indicated that

comfort with the status quo and fear of the

unknown were major concerns that discourage

experimenting with new practices that have

uncertain outcomes. DEWA, KHDA and Dubai Courts

stated that they witnessed levels of resistance

Accounting/inance

H.R division

Performance managt division

Stratagy division

I.T division

Adminis-trators

Oicers Mid management

Senior staf

Figure 12: Groups that Resist KM and Knowledge Sharing

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

14%

9% 11%

18%

30% 30% 31%

25%

9%

10

among their employees who were attached to and

defensive about old ways of doing things. Changing

their behavior and attitudes is thus a hindrance to

successful KM. Lastly, diferent cultural and linguistic

backgrounds of individuals within one organization,

which characterizes the workforce in GCC countries,

was cited by 38% of respondents as a challenge to

knowledge sharing.

Trust

Lack of trust among individuals, and between

employees and management, probably constitutes

the main obstacle to knowledge sharing. When

employees lack interpersonal trust, they refrain

from sharing what they know with each other,

drastically blocking the processes of KM. This

attitude is especially relevant for the Arab world,

where establishing trust and connections is the

irst step before engaging in any collaborative and

sustainable exchange.

Recommendations1. The vast majority of public organizations in

Dubai are not adequately aware of the vital

role leadership plays in KM projects. The lack

of efective leadership negatively afects the

adoption and success of KM as a pathway

to sustainable progress. Therefore, before

establishing a KM department or program,

government entities should select competent

leaders who genuinely believe in and

promote values and practices associated with

knowledge management, whether as heads of

organizations, as managers of central units for

KM, as knowledge champions, or as knowledge

oicers.

2. More involvement of managers in

disseminating and facilitating the low of

knowledge to staf is required to have better

performing KM programs. Currently, public

organizations in Dubai are aware of the

importance of this factor, but should invest

more time and eforts to encourage senior

management to interact more closely with staf

to share and disseminate knowledge.

3. In addition to the need to make KM a top

priority by management, staf should be

involved in all KM processes, with their

feedback taken into consideration. Eventually,

this will result in more cooperation among

top management and employees at the

organization, and will also lead to an

environment of collaboration and knowledge

sharing.

4. Mechanisms for assessing KM performance

should be established to measure whether

they deliver the desired outcomes, and to

identify any weaknesses or obstacles—

whether behavioral, organizational, or

technical. To that end, more focus should given

to qualitative methods to understand the

diverse and unique needs and motivations of

diferent staf, integrating them into assessing

the ways in which KM is conceptualized and

practiced.

5. Currently, government entities in Dubai are

not allocating suicient resources, tangible

and non-tangible, for KM programs. It is

crucial that government entities prioritize and

increase, rather than decrease, the annual

budget and other forms of support given to

KM programs.

6. Dubai government entities have implemented

advanced technological systems to store

created or captured explicit knowledge;

however, lessons’ learned from this study

establish that these instruments do not always

“unpack” the tacit knowledge embedded

within individuals. Therefore, it is imperative to

establish mechanisms that ensure the that the

“know-how” of employees is safely stored and

remains in the organization by focusing more

on developing and utilizing the human aspect

of KM processes.

7. Government entities should strongly

encourage their employees to share

knowledge by establishing the necessary

reward systems, both monetary and non-

monetary, and by considering the sharing

of knowledge as a criterion for assessing

employee performance. Moreover, it is

imperative to organize more frequent

formal and informal training sessions. This

will motivate them to contribute to the KM

program’s outcomes and become influential

players in the overall process, not only

in the implementation stage but also in

11

analyzing problems affecting organizations

in managing knowledge and designing the

appropriate alternatives to address these

problems.

8. The training sessions that Dubai government

entities provide to their employees produced

positive results in improving the skills and

knowledge of employees. However, these

entities do not fully recognize and empower

their employees’ skills and experiences, thereby

risking the loss of these assets and their

potential beneits. Accordingly, it is highly

recommended that these entities should

identify and better utilize all the knowledge

and experience of their employees for the sake

of the institution, and also for the personal

development of individual employees.

9. It is very important to foster and nurture an

organizational culture that recognizes the

importance and value of knowledge and

its sharing. Therefore, leaders in the public

sector should invest their time, eforts and

resources in establishing a culture of trust

and cooperation among the employees that

promotes innovation and knowledge sharing.

This can lead to more trust, and eventually to

more engagement in collective knowledge

sharing.

References

Anantatmula, V. 2008. Leadership role in making effective use of KM. The VINE: Journal of Information and

Knowledge Management Systems 38 (4), 445-460.

Gonzalez, G., L. Karoly, L. Constant and H. Salem. 2008. Addressing human capital challenges: Assessing

the experiences of four countries in the Arab region. Research Brief: Rand-Qatar Policy Institute.

Holsapple, C. and K. Joshi. 2000. An investigation of factors that influence the management of knowledge in

organizations. Journal of Strategic Information Systems 9, 235-261.

Leonard, D. and L. Sensiper. 1998. The role of tacit knowledge in group innovation. California Management

Review.

Kim, W. and R. Mauborgne. 1998. Procedural justice, strategic decision making, and the knowledge

economy. Strategic Management Journal 19, 323-338.

12

Mhamed Biygautane is a Research Associate at the Dubai School of Government, where he specializes in knowledge management, governance and public management.

Khalid Al-Yahya is an Assistant Professor at the Dubai School of Government, where he specializes in public management, political economy, organizational development and human capital utilization.

Editor: Stephen Brannon

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the instrumental role of the following colleagues in providing invaluable contributions, inputs and assistance for this project:Alexander Blandl, Samar Farah, Sahar Sati Jawad and Jineesh M. Illath.

The views expressed in this policy brief are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the trustees, officers and other staff of the Dubai School of Government.

© 2011 Dubai School of Government

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