Creating knowledge of end users' requirements: The interface between firm and project.

In order to stay competitive and meet the changing needs of the market, construction firms must develop efficient means of gathering and using knowledge of end users' requirements. This article uses two case studies to explore the knowledge creation of end users' requirements in project-driven firms. The focus of the study is the interface between the firm and the project. The interface is analyzed from both an autopoietic and cognitive, organizational, and societal view. The findings implicate the importance of understanding (a) what kinds of knowledge dominated in the different organizations, (b) what could be expected in the exchange of data, and (c) what action needs to be taken in order to create value of it. The study suggests that considering the organization as an autopoietic system could be useful to understand the organization's responses to a dynamic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]