Innovative Concepts within Knowledge Management

In our increasingly knowledge-based society the need for innovative concepts within the discipline of Knowledge Management (KM) becomes clear. Therefore, this article aims to shed light on current and uprising innovative technologies and concepts within the discipline of KM. This study conveys recent and previous scientific literature on the relevance of uprising innovative concepts within the various dimensions of KM. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) on various literature sources to cover the whole spectrum of innovative KM approaches. All 37 reviewed articles originate from acknowledged sources and were written in English. The findings show, which innovative concepts show relevance within KM, how they are classified into the three innovation categories social, technological, and organizational, how they manifest within KM and what to expect from future KM innovations

Understanding the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the shaping of inter-organisational knowledge exchange (IOKE) practice: The context of European living labs

Inter-organizational knowledge exchange is an important process for stimulating innovation and improving collaboration among multiple organizations. With the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), this process could be greatly affected for effectiveness and efficiency. However, existing studies provide an insufficient understanding of how knowledge exchange processes are shaped by the nature of ICT in the context of inter-organisational settings. Therefore, this research attempts to address this research gap through conceptualising the role of ICT in the shaping of inter-organisational knowledge exchange (IOKE) practice by investigating the context of European Living Labs, as an exemplary inter-organisational collaboration setting. In methodological terms, this study adopts an inductive, qualitative research approach, and follows a combination of Grounded Theory, Multiple Case Study and Documentary Research, making use of in-depth semi-structured interviews with European Living Labs stakeholders and analysing Living Labs project documents. The data has informed the use of Practice Theory, Sociomateriality Theory, and Technology Affordance Theory at different levels of analysis to understand the research phenomena. This research has found that 1) ICT-based IOKE practice can be characterised by ICT affordances and constraints, human knowledgeabilities, and triple-layer contexts (inter-organisational context, intra-organisational context, and wider environmental context). 2) ICT mediates such enactment of knowledgeability by affording or constraining distinct human abilities that allow actors to accomplish their knowledge work or hold them back as they engage in knowledge exchange practice. Diverse ICT affordances (e.g., cross-distance networking, instant workaround) and constraints (e.g., accessing, communication continuity) can mediate the enactment of four different types of knowledgeabilities: inter-connecting, interactive learning, co-creating, and co-ordinating. 3) Different knowledgeabilities, their associated ICT affordances/constraints, and their embedded contexts are inter-related, and they co-evolve over time across the project lifecycle. This has been conceptualised into an ICT-based IOKE practice framework (integrated) and its three variations (three variated frameworks for different project lifecycle stages). The findings have strong theoretical and practical implications that signal the salient areas for future research to study, particularly for ICT affordance studies

Driving Innovation and Knowledge Management Using Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is emerging as a critical source of information and knowledge in contemporary enterprises. Web 2.0-like tools are being developed to help enterprises perform crowdsourcing. Further, in an era of global competition and where “CIO” is increasingly being used to refer to “Chief Innovation Officer,” facilitating enterprise innovation is becoming more and more important. This paper presents a case that is designed to illustrate the use of a Web 2.0-like tool to gather data from an enterprise’s crowd to facilitate generating innovative ideas and help manage innovation knowledge. The case presents the basic system design and provides screens to illustrate its use. The case also examines how two firms have used the tool in the banking and consulting industries. Finally, the case examines some potential challenges associated with systems of this type