COVID-19 pandemic influence on organizational knowledge management systems and practices: Insights from an Indian engineering services organization

COVID-19 pandemic unleashed uncertainties around the world. Organizations scrambled to ensure business continuity. COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented as disruptions were far beyond business continuity scenarios planning with respect to severities, timelines, and geographies. Initially, business disruptions were assumed to last just for a few days or weeks at a local governing region, county, or state level. However, the pandemic lasted much longer and sustained efforts were needed to stay compliant with ever-evolving and changing local, state, federal, and international guidelines, rules, and regulations. Prolonged work from home became an unavoidable and only way to ensure business continuity for many service-oriented organizations. Organizations not only tried to leverage existing knowledge management (KM) practices but also were compelled to critically relook at the efficacy and effectiveness of KM practices. Organizational KM systems and practices (OKMSP) in a typical Indian engineering consulting and design organization were studied. The changes in employee perceptions about OKMSP during the pandemic period were captured and critically analyzed. The study evaluated employee perceptions related to four critical aspects of OKMSP namely, KM processes, usage of KM tools, KM effectiveness, and KM culture. Lack of face-to-face meetings during the COVID-19 period made an important change in the way of working. This paper captures COVID-19 pandemic-induced changes and provides pointers to further research opportunities in the field of OKMSP. The study highlights the need for robust knowledge management systems to face pandemic-induced disruptions.