The role of big data and knowledge management in improving projects and project-based organizations

Knowledge management plays a significant role in organizations; supporting organizations to deal effectively with changes, increasing their productivity and paving the way to development and innovation. Several scientific studies have addressed the relevance of applying knowledge management initiatives to improve projects as well as organizations that conduct projects. This paper will look at the interaction between knowledge management and big data within the context of projects. In this regard, this paper will discuss, among other things, (1) how big data can contribute to enhance knowledge management in projects and project-based organizations (2) what kind of pitfalls, challenges and opportunities that are associated with the interplay between knowledge management and big data (3) how this interplay can improve projects so that the projects can be carried out effectively and efficiently. These three questions are addressed by taking into consideration some of the important, underlying issues that are essential for ensuring improved decision making and performance in projects and project-based organizations. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)