Knowledge acquisition by outsourced service providers from aging workforce of oil and gas industry: A study

• Published in: VINE. Very informal newsletter on library automation 2013-01, Vol.43 (1), p.39-56
• Main Authors: BAIRI, Jayachandra, MURALI MANOHAR, B, GOUTAM KUMAR KUNDU
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age factors; Aging; Construction costs; Contracting out; Cost engineering; Design engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Focusing; Gas industry; General aspects; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Knowledge acquisition; Knowledge management; Natural gas; Petroleum industry; Sciences and techniques of general use
• ISSN: 0305-5728; 1474-1032
• DOI: 10.1108/03055721311302133

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the major critical success factors involved in knowledge acquisition from an aging oil and gas workforce by outsourced service providers and find the outcome. In addition, the authors are also interested in finding out the outcome for the client and the service provider by following these critical success factors. Design/methodology/approach - The authors shortlisted two outsourced firms for studying, primarily because they deliver lots of service support work to oil and gas firms. For the exploratory nature of this case study, a structured, open-ended interview was conducted. Through face-to-face interviews with 12 senior managers, primary data were collected. Upon content analysis of data collected, the framework was evaluated. Findings - The results of this study indicate that both client and service providers can benefit by following major critical success factors for knowledge acquisition. From the open-ended interview with the two companies, it can be concluded that the service providers are able to grow their technical and domain capability through knowledge acquisition from ageing workforce and reduce the cost to client. Research limitations/implications - The study has been restricted to two service providers, with majority of operations carried out of India, focusing only on US/UK-based oil & gas firms. Implication on theory is, by following these critical success factors, it is likely to be easier to acquire the knowledge from an aging oil and gas workforce. Practical implications - The service provider firms can build their knowledge capability, reducing the cost to both client and service provider. Further study with more service providers at the global level may help in pooling larger data. The primary contribution of the paper is in introducing the critical success factors with various associated activities that drive knowledge acquisition from an aging workforce. Originality/value - The primary contribution of the paper is in introducing the critical success factors with various associated activities that drive knowledge acquisition from an aged workforce in the oil and gas industries. Second contribution is in highlighting the role of these critical success factors in gaining various benefits to client as well as to service providers.