Developing a Theoretical and Operational Knowledge Audit Model for Project- Based Organizations

 Considering the underlying role played by knowledge management in project-based organizations; and, the fact that knowledge audit is the most important step in supplying, maintaining and updating the content of knowledge management systems; this research effort is aimed at designing an appropriate knowledge audit model based on the requirements and factors of knowledge audit in project-based organizations.  This research is an applied research with a mixed-methods approach (both quantitative and qualitative). To be more exact, several methods such as documentary study method, exploratory study method, the survey method, factor analysis and thematic analysis were employed to establish a weighted knowledge audit model based on the requirements, associated with project- based organizations.The statistical population of this study for collecting qualitative data were 13 experts of knowledge management and the statistical population of collecting quantitative data were 220 project managers, project control experts and knowledge managers from 4 project-based organizations (ICT Research Institute, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, Niroo Research Institute; and, Iranian Space Research Center). The findings of this analysis demonstrate that all five factors of knowledge audit in project- based organizations constitute the final structural model for knowledge audit, and the appropriate knowledge audit model for project-based organizations includes five factors: (1) knowledge need analysis; (2) knowledge inventory analysis; (3) knowledge valuation, (4) knowledge flow analysis; and, (5) knowledge application analysis. Among these factors, knowledge valuation with its factor loading of 0.9 is the most important factor.
C 5 factors and 54 subfactors of Knowledge audit have highly-desired factor loading values and exert impact within the knowledge audit model for project-based organizations. Moreover, the final model displays a fair goodness-of-fit.