The application of smart campuses (SC), especially at higher education institutions (HEI) in Indonesia, is very diverse, and does not yet have standards. As a result, SC practice is spread across various areas in an unstructured and uneven manner. KM is one of the critical components of SC. However, the use of KM to support SC is less clearly discussed. Most implementations and assumptions still consider the latest IT application as the SC component. As such, this study aims to identify the components of the KM model for SC. This study used a systematic literature review (SLR) technique with PRISMA procedures, an analytical hierarchy process, and expert interviews. SLR is used to identify the components of the conceptual model, and AHP is used for model priority component analysis. Interviews were used for validation and model development. The results show that KM, IoT, and big data have the highest trends. Governance, people, and smart education have the highest trends. IT is the highest priority component. The KM model for SC has five main layers grouped in phases of the system cycle. This cycle describes the organization’s intellectual ability to adapt in achieving SC indicators. The knowledge cycle at HEIs focuses on education, research, and community service.
1. Introduction
In Indonesia, smart universities or campuses (SC) do not have a conical meaning for mutual understanding. Various studies related to SCs provide definitions based on different approaches. If grouped, there are three approaches used in defining SC, namely: driven by technology, adoption of the smart city concept, and based on the development of an organization or business process
[1]. This definition proves that organizational factors and business processes strongly influence SCs. One solution to manage these factors is KM. According to
[2][3][4][5][2,3,4,5], KM is one of the critical components of SCs. SC technology components, especially in Indonesia, are diverse, and do not yet have a standard. This condition makes it difficult to determine the effect of components on the creation and success of SCs. As a result, SC practice is spread across various areas in an unstructured and uneven manner. Those areas are governance, people, mobility, environment, living, and economy
[6]. The SC practice has not significantly affected the task of higher education institutions’ (HEI) Tri Dharma, namely education, research, and community service. This challenge requires proof by mapping SC components and SC application areas based on previous research.
Based on research
[5], one of the SC requirements is KMS. This feature requires a KMS to manage knowledge interactions. However, previous research is still small regarding the use of KMS to support SCs. This gap can be studied because it has a great chance of producing novelty.
According to
[1][7][1,7], SC applications are strongly dominated by management systems, such as intelligent learning, library, and others. KMS is an essential component in the development of a management system. However, KMS has not been explicitly discussed in previous studies, whereas in practice, all these systems should require KM.
KM is a system that can help organizations process knowledge to support decision-making so that organizations can become smarter
[8]. This advantage indicates that KM is an essential component of SCs. However, most researchers are not fully aware that KM is a significant component in SCs. The majority of implementations and community assumptions still consider SC components to be applications of the latest technology. This assumption impacts the existence and contribution of KM in developing KM. There is still very little research that discusses the implementation of KMS to support SCs. This condition raises the question of how KMS can support intelligent services. Based on this, an in-depth analysis and literature study are needed to determine the mapping of KMS that supports SCs.
According to
[5], a smart campus has three conditions: complex interactions, full integration, and incentives for innovation and collaboration. Complex interactions and collaborations are features that require good resource management. Meanwhile, resource management can be optimal if KMS supports it.
The application of SC components and technology in Indonesia is still small and various
[9]. This condition raises questions and problems as follows. First, does this condition raise questions about each SC component and technology’s application trend based on previous research? Furthermore, the implementation of SCs is uneven and inconsistent in each HEI, which represents another challenge. These challenges drive solutions (SLR and KM models) for SC development at HEIs.
According to
[4], the level of an SC can be measured based on the indicator “SmU smartness levels.” All of these indicators have something in common, namely the application of technology components at HEIs. A knowledge management system (KMS) is one of the components of KM technology that affects SC indicators. However, the contribution of KMS for SCs has not been widely discussed, and has not been measured in previous studies.
The SC indicators provide challenges and research opportunities for KM models in analyzing and providing appropriate strategic recommendations. The KM model in this study aims to support the SC creation strategy. KMS strongly influences the KM model. The primary purpose of KMS in this research is to realize that SCs improve performance, research quality, and convenience by providing advanced information technology services that are dynamic and user-oriented. KMS, according to
[10], consists of knowledge discovery systems, knowledge capture systems, knowledge sharing systems, and knowledge application systems. Meanwhile, according to research
[11], KMS consists of acquisition, sharing, development, preservation, and application.
The urgency of the need for a KM model at HEIs is increasing when various problems arise in the pandemic that demand the creation of SCs. Meanwhile, previous research that comprehensively discusses the KM model for SCs is still very small. Therefore, this study contributes to filling these gaps. The KM model at HEIs, which will be developed through this study, is expected to provide a detailed framework to support the creation of SCs, especially in the pandemic era. The framework must significantly influence the SC indicators so that the SC can be said to be successful
[4][12][4,12]. Based on these phenomena and challenges, further research is needed regarding the KM model. This study aims to develop a comprehensive KM model for SCs, especially in the pandemic era where previous research has not been done (still small). This objective also demonstrates that this study has a significant contribution and novelty to aspects of KM and SCs.
2. Smart Campus (SC)
SCs are the destination of most HEIs in Indonesia. In their development, HEIs in Indonesia have implemented many KM and ICT. HEIs that have implemented ICT use different terms, such as campus information systems, academic information systems (SIA), e-learning, digital campuses, and even smart universities or smart campuses. The difference between these terms is that there is no agreed standard or indicator. The further analysis and requirements of each HEI cause the absence of such standardization. Based on this, a standard is needed to build a model of using KM-based ICT to create an SC.
Relevant research related to this discussion is the research conducted by
[4][5][12][4,5,12] that argued KM is the main component for creating an SC. According to Owoc and Marciniak (2013), an SC has four conditions: complex interaction, full integration, incentives for innovation, and collaboration operations. These requirements are strategies that must be carried out to create an SC. This strategy is expected to achieve the SC indicators and HEI’s vision and mission/objectives.
An HEI’s vision and mission can achieve the SC indicator. The vision and mission of HEIs in Indonesia are based on the concept of
Tridharma [9]. According to Uskov et al. (2016), the SC indicator is an HEI which has an automatic capability in: (1) adaptation, (2) sensing (awareness), (3) inferring (logical reasoning), (4) self-learning, (5) anticipation, and (6) self-organization. The six indicators are the level of intelligence that an HEI must have to create an SC. However, according to Zakir, Defit, and Vitriani (2019), the SC indicator is based on the ICT PURA concept, which consists of: ICT Use, ICT readiness, ICT capability, and ICT impact. The indicator models (smartness level and ICT PURA) have different functions based on these two studies. Smartness level serves as an indicator of the maturity of SC implementation, whereas ICT PURA functions as an indicator of SC readiness. These indicators are concepts that are closely related to the implementation of various software. Implementation of software such as KMS has an essential role in fulfilling the SC indicators because it can manage knowledge automatically to perform the following capabilities: (1) modification of business functions; (2) identify, recognize, understand, and be aware of various events, processes, objects, and phenomena; (3) make logical conclusions based on raw data, processed information, observations, evidence, assumptions, rules, and logical reasoning; (4) acquire, modify, or formulate new knowledge, experience, or existing behavior to improve operations, business functions, performance, and effectiveness; (5) predict what will happen, how to handle the event, or what to do next; (6) change its internal structure (components), regenerate itself, and sustain itself in a directed (non-random) manner under suitable conditions, but without external agents/entities
[4].
The automatic capability of an HEI can be carried out optimally in various implementation areas to achieve an SC. SC implementation areas vary widely depending on the needs and environmental conditions of the HEI. SCs consist of smart governance, smart people, smart mobility, smart environment, smart living, smart education, and smart economy
[6][13][6,13]. HEIs in Indonesia have different SC implementation conditions from the previous research model. This condition requires the development of a model that considers the needs of HEIs in Indonesia.
3. KM Model in HEI
The KM model at HEIs involves many pre-arranged KM enablers, such as organizational structure, technology, collaboration, and trust, so that knowledge management will be successful in higher education institutions. A KM enabler is a determining factor for the success of KM implementation in higher education institutions (HEIs)
[14][16]. Previous research stated that KM processes and infrastructure (human resources and culture) influence university performance. These results support the hypothesis that IT moderates the relationship between KM practice and university performance
[14][16]. IT has a positive impact on HEI performance. In particular, IT can support education and scientific research
[15][17]. From these results, it can be concluded that the technology, in general, is the CSF model of KM in HEIs.
The KM model develops a virtual community of practice (VCoP) at HEIs. An effective VCoP can encourage members to participate to share and contribute knowledge, and can be based on many variables, such as: (1) leadership role in online communities; (2) content development, and quality of knowledge transfer; (3) shared goals of joining the community; (4) value of participation; (5) organizational culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration; (6) developed information technology infrastructure; and (7) integration of VCoP in organizational structure
[16][17][18,19]. Other studies related to KM at HEIs show that organizational structure, the interaction between human resources, and organizational culture are the main contextual factors in the KM model
[18][20]. From these three studies, it can be concluded that the KM model at HEIs is strongly influenced by KM infrastructure (information technology infrastructure, organizational structure, and culture), KM processes, especially knowledge sharing, and KM mechanisms in the form of VCoP.
This conclusion is also in line with the research results of Muqadas, Rehman, Aslam, et al. (2017), showing that KM infrastructure (leadership support, organizational culture, and incentives) is mandatory for the successful implementation of the KM process. HEIs’ policymakers and academics must develop effective KM strategies to support KM processes and infrastructure. Examples of efforts are providing leadership that supports effective human resource management (HRM), creating a collaborative culture, and establishing an incentive or reward system. The KM strategy is essential in achieving organizational goals by encouraging, shaping, and maintaining the KM process among the civitas
[19][20][21,22]. This KM strategy will be the key in implementing KM in various fields/implementation dimensions. KM strategies can be used as a tool to support a more competitive and ever-changing environments through an integrated service approach, drive for innovation, collaborative operations, intelligent learning communities, ICT sustainability, “green” concepts, governance, and visible campus reporting. Based on these challenges, the KM model at HEIs must have components of a KM strategy and dimensions/implementation areas. The KM strategy includes all approaches to support KM processes and infrastructure in adapting to a competitive and dynamic environment. At the same time, the dimensions/implementation areas contain all the scope of KM implementation in HEIs, such as education, environment, governance, and others.
The primary keys in model development are simplifying assumptions, identifying core and boundary conditions, and easing model implementation. Therefore, the KM model is used to describe the unity of several KM components to understand more deeply the concept of causality between these components. The KM model at HEIs is identical to the KM process and initiative to achieve an HEI’s strategic goals. SC is one of HEIs’ strategic goals to achieve an HEI’s vision and mission (education, research, and community service). As such, the KM model at an HEI ideally is a holistic approach to KM implementation to create an SC that can improve the performance of education, research, and community service.
KM is the critical component and technology of an SC. KM is the most important and most common activity to create a knowledgeable civitas and campuses. For SC creation, the core of KM implementation is KM processes and systems, including planning, capturing, discovering, creating, and utilizing knowledge
[21][23]. In addition, other studies have shown that the acquisition, sharing, and utilization of knowledge can increase intellectual capital, and encourage research innovation capabilities that lead to an increase in HEI performance
[22][24]. Therefore, the ideal KM model for the creation of an SC is a model with a KM process and system component that is in line with the innovation needs of the institution. This conclusion is also drawn by the results of Papa et al. (2018), which shows that the knowledge acquisition process positively affects institutional innovation performance.
Innovation at an HEI is strongly influenced by the components of leadership, knowledge sharing, the ability to know academic expertise, acquiring knowledge of work culture, and the use of technology
[23][25]. All of these components can be created by building KM capacity in the main areas of an HEI, because the capacity of KM (KM tools and techniques) will help create awareness of the importance of KM among the HEI civitas. Therefore, in developing a KM model to support the creation of SCs, it is necessary to have adequate technology, mechanism, and KMS components.
KMS, outcomes, and KM results have a very positive effect on HEI performance. This statement is supported by the research results of Naser, Al Shobaki, and Amuna (2016), who stated that the most critical factors that affect the high performance of institutions are KM processes, KM systems, leadership, people, outcomes, and KM results. In addition, the ideal KMS proposed to support institutional performance is to collaborate with the framework of social media functionality, e-learning elements, and KM components. Based on this research, it can be stated that the KM model for HEI performance must have components of people, KMS, outcomes, and KM results.
KMS with social media features plays an essential role in the success of KM at HEIs. Based on these necessities, KM and social media integration are absolute. As such, the main components is needed to integrate KM and social media: technology, pedagogy, culture, evaluation, and leadership
[24][26]. The KM technology component is a mandatory component in the implementation of KMS at HEIs. The KM technology can be educational data mining, enterprise architecture, and business intelligence to support knowledge discovery systems (KDS)
[20][22]. In addition, examples of KM technology can be in the form of a knowledge web portal (learning, research, and vocational) to support a knowledge sharing system (KSS)
[25][27]. Based on the analysis of the research results, the component of KM technology, especially in KDS and KSS, is a crucial component for developing a KM model in HEI.
KM has the task of managing knowledge comprehensively. The KM tasks are as follows: to mobilize hidden implicit/tacit knowledge, integrate knowledge from the organization and make it accessible to all, identify missing knowledge, create new knowledge, make knowledge more accessible and usable, create a knowledge-sharing culture for experimentation and learning, evaluate and reflect on the learning process, and the codification of new knowledge
[26][28]. There is an additional need to capture and utilize knowledge based on these tasks. As such, by using a knowledge capture system (KCS) and a knowledge application system (KAS), these needs can be met. The analysis demands the development of a KM model in HEIs by including KCS and KAS as essential components.
The current development of the KM model research at HEIs combines the essential processes of KM with the essential processes of IS
[27][29]. The IS process includes decentralized websites, dedicated portals, virtual libraries, electronic learning resources, and developed software and hardware. Successful implementation of the process can be achieved by meeting the following requirements: availability of software and hardware, adequate financial resources, robust IT infrastructure, dissemination of digital culture, and the existence of a dedicated center for KM and IS management. The scope of application is not only limited to students, but also includes teaching staff, academic leaders, student affairs staff, and external stakeholders. The application of this model has a positive impact on student performance, and the quality of faculty education outcomes. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that the KM model in HEI is strongly influenced by the components of the KM process, CSF and strategy, and outcome
[27][29]. The KM process includes knowledge creation, storage, sharing, application, and evaluation. At the same time, the CSF component consists of people and organizations. The proposed strategy is an integrated portal and intelligent learning community. The last component of the results proposed by the research is the quality of education, research, and community service services. The second sub-component is the capability of the academic community to practice the knowledge process.