Linking Knowledge Management, Business Excellence and Innovation Performance

This research examined the extent to which the management of knowledge and the application of business excellence frameworks can contribute to innovation performance. A model of Knowledge Management (KM) and Business Excellence (BE) framed the study. Intensive case studies were conducted with six Australian service sector organizations that had won business excellence awards to determine the ways in which a business excellence framework can inform knowledge management practices that lead to sustained innovation performance. Analysis of the data revealed the manner in which the Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF) informed knowledge management practices and contributed to innovation in the six service sector organizations. Although the research is preliminary in nature, results indicate that principles of the ABEF shaped KM activities through fostering continuous improvement which in turn encouraged a stronger focus on incremental rather than radical forms of innovatio

Knowledge Management in the Learning Economy

The purpose of this paper is to show why to build ‘learning organisations’ must be a central element of knowledge management. The paper argues that the wide use of information technology has a contradictory impact on knowledge management. On the one hand it extends the potential for codifying knowledge. On the other hand it makes tacit knowledge scarcer and it contributes to the formation of ‘a learning economy’. The argument is supported by an empirical analysis of survey data from Denmark showing that firms that introduce several organisational practices, assumed to characterise the learning organisation, are more innovative than the average firm. The paper contributes to the empirical foundation for the argument that learning organisations stimulate innovation and competence building and it makes an original conceptual contribution of practical relevance by linking knowledge management to HRM and innovation management.Knowledge management, learning economy, interactive learning, organisational change

Four major task domains of science for sustainability

We propose a research agenda integrating environment-related science, technology, and innovation (STI) using a problem-solving approach to sustainable development. We argue that STI for sustainability encompasses four major task domains: (1) ecological modernization and transformation, (2) ecosystem management, (3) environmental risk assessment, and (4) adaptation to environmental change, each posing great social challenges. For each domain, naturesociety interaction increasingly relies on knowledge acquisition. The proposed agenda focuses on the investigation of R&D capacity and linking knowledge and action within and among societal spheres (i.e., science, politics, business, law, mass media, and education). While today the disciplinary niches of environment-related STI research are still fragmented, with this broader framework, STI research could develop into a major social science field of humanenvironment relations. --human dimensions of global environmental change,environmental sociology,science for sustainability,STI research,innovation research,social studies of science,so-ciology of knowledge,naturesociety interaction,noosphere,ecological modernization,ecosystem management,environmental risk assessment,adaptation to environmental change

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY, AND INNOVATION SUCCESS

Innovation is considered a major driving force for the prosperity of firms and entire economies. Research suggests that a firm’s capacity to acquire and utilize relevant knowledge from internal and external sources, i.e. its absorptive capacity (ACAP), is decisive for innovation success. But what is the role of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) for a firm’s ACAP and innovativeness? Surprisingly, despite lots of mature research on both, ACAP and KMS, there is a gap linking the two. This paper hence asks: What is the effect of knowledge management systems usage on absorptive capacity and innovation success? Responding to recent findings in the management and organizational sciences we develop a theoretical model that links the availability and usage of KMS with a firm’s ACAP and its organizational knowledge to explain innovation success. An empirical evaluation using data from 224 manufacturing firms shows that a firm’s KMS strongly contributes to its ACAP and catalyzes the innovation process. The results suggest that organizational knowledge is important for innovation success and that successful KMS work through enhancing particular facets of ACAP

The Influence Of Human Capital On The Innovativeness Of Firms

Despite the importance of innovation and innovativeness within today’s economy, we know little about how intellectual capital of firms can contribute to a superior innovation at the firm’s level. Based on resources and knowledge-based views of firms we developed a hypothesis linking three dimensions of human capital (component of the intellectual capital) and the innovativeness of firms. As a representation of the firm’s innovativeness, we consider the product, process and management innovation. Using a survey from 68 firms working on the auto components sector, established in the Northern of Spain and Northern of Portugal, we found firstly, that innovativeness has two main dimensions, perfectly differentiated, the product-process innovation and the management innovation; secondly that the human capital dimensions (formation and knowledge creation, innovative behave, and incentives to innovation) influences differently each type of innovativeness capacity. We found that the different human capital dimension influences directly, only, the product-process innovativeness. More specifically only the innovative behavior and the incentives to innovation influence the product-process innovativeness. The formation and knowledge creation dimension doesn’t influence directly either the product-process innovativeness or the management innovativeness. Moreover, none of the human capital dimensions considered influence the management innovativeness directly. These results highlight the importance of human capital on innovative performance, and it allows identification of  the most important dimensions that influence directly the different innovativeness capacities and more broadly, highlight the value of intellectual capital as a competitive advantage in contemporary times

The Learning Organisation and National Systems of Competence Building and Innovation

This paper is based on a hypothesis that we have entered a specific phase of economic development, which we refer to as the 'learning economy', where knowledge and learning have become more important than in any earlier historical period. In this new context the learning capability of firms located in the domestic economy becomes a major concern for national governments and, at the same time, the national infrastructure supporting knowledge creation, diffusion and use becomes a concern for management and employees. To get the two to match and support each other becomes a prerequisite for economic success for firms as well as for the national economy. One of the main objectives of this paper is to demonstrate that societal institutions, which may exist at the national or regional levels, shape the types of organisational learning predominating at the level of the firm. The paper develops the concept of a 'national system of competence building and innovation' by linking national specificities in the formation of skills and labour market dynamics to the micro-level processes of knowledge creation and learning within and between firms. It uses the examples of Japan, Denmark and the high-technology clusters in the US and UK to illustrate the logic of institutionalised variation in patterns of learning and innovation. The paper argues that tacit knowledge, which is difficult to create and transfer in the absence of social interaction and labour mobility, constitutes a most important source of learning and sustainable competitive advantage. Learning builds on trust and social capital. Institutions that are able to imbue these elements into firms and markets encourage interactive learning and are more likely to produce strong innovative capabilities.learning organisations; learning economy; knowledge creation; national innovation systems; institutions; tacit knowledge, competence building

Crowdsourcing innovation intermediaries Functions

Open innovation is a hot topic in innovation management. Its basic premise is open up the innovation process. The innovation process, in general sense, may be seen as the process of designing, developing and commercializing a novel product or service to improve the value added of a company. The development of Web 2.0 tools facilitates this kind of contributions, opening space to the emergence of crowdsourcing innovation initiatives. Crowdsourcing is a form of outsourcing not directed to other companies but to the crowd by means of an open call mostly through an Internet platform. Innovation intermediaries, in general sense, are organizations that work to enable innovation, that just act as brokers or agents between two or more parties. Usually, they are also engaged in other activities like inter-organizational networking and technology development and related activities. A crowdsourcing innovation intermediary is an organization that mediates the communication and relationship between the seekers – companies that aspire to solve some problem or to take advantage of any business opportunity – with a crowd that is prone to give ideas based on their knowledge, experience and wisdom. This paper identifies and analyses the functions to be performed by an intermediary of crowdsourcing innovation through grounded theory analyses from literature. The resulting model is presented and explained. The resulting model summarizes eight main functions that can be performed by a crowdsourcing process, namely, diagnoses, mediation, linking knowledge, community, evaluation, project management, intellectual property governance and marketing and support. These functions are associated with a learning cycle process which covers all the crowdsourcing activities that can be realized by the broker

Leadership styles and employee creativity: the interactive impact of online knowledge sharing and organizational innovation

Purpose: This study examines the differences in the impact of three leadership styles (transactional, transformational, and creative) on intra-organizational online knowledge sharing and employee creativity. Specifically, we use self-determination theory (SDT) to examine the impact of these three leadership styles on four aspects of online knowledge sharing (knowledge donating, knowledge collecting, lurking, and active lurking) and the moderating role of organizational innovation on these relationships. Methodology: Data collected from 361 employees of B2B organizations in Vietnam support all our hypotheses. Structural equation modelling was used for data analysis. Novelty/Originality: This paper extends the current knowledge management research on online knowledge sharing by studying two new behaviors (lurking and active lurking), linking diverse leadership styles to these behaviors and employee creativity, and exploring the moderating role of organizational innovation. Our findings shed light on the complexity of the relationship between leadership and online knowledge sharing. This study also provides useful implications for practitioners to help them choose the most appropriate leadership style for their digitalization process to ensure optimal outcomes. Findings: Transformational, transactional, and creative leadership were found to affect online knowledge sharing, in which creative leadership had the strongest effect. Online knowledge sharing was found to mediate the impact of three types of leadership on employee creativity. The results also showed that organizational innovation moderates the influence of leadership on online knowledge sharing

An Approach to Conceptual and Embodiment Design within a New Product Development Lifecycle Framework

[EN] The design of new innovative products is the result of an accurate and precise management of knowledge sources all over its life cycle, such as technology, market, competitors and suppliers. The work contributes with a framework that shows how the knowledge sources influence in the state-of-the-art and market needs so that they become opportunities for innovating products addressing the whole product life cycle. It provides a systematic path from the early generation of ideas to the production of a new product proposal. Through a deep analysis of previous research works of new product innovation life cycle development frameworks and linking it with knowledge management, strategic planning and scorecards, we came out with a structured contribution. The result considers the concurrent activities and its relationships all the way through the product life cycle that can help in creativity and innovation, combined with a process management proposal. Managing the sources of knowledge in highly dynamic markets and technologies is one of the major difficulties involved in innovative products design and development. The emerging knowledge from external sources is confronted with organisation internal knowledge and experience in order to achieve the first product correct.This work was supported by the Spanish Government and the Universitat Jaume I of Castellon (Spain) through research [project number P11B2009-37], entitled 'Methodologies for Implementing Product lifecycle management tools for mechanical Small and Medium Enterprises'.Vila, C.; Albinana, JC. (2016). An Approach to Conceptual and Embodiment Design within a New Product Development Lifecycle Framework. International Journal of Production Research. 54(10):2856-2874. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2015.1110632S28562874541

Crowdsourcing Innovation Intermediaries Functions

Open innovation is a hot topic in innovation management. Its basic premise is open up the innovation process. The innovation process, in general sense, may be seen as the process of designing, developing and commercializing a novel product or service to improve the value added of a company. The development of Web 2.0 tools facilitates this kind of contributions, opening space to the emergence of crowdsourcing innovation initiatives. Crowdsourcing is a form of outsourcing not directed to other companies but to the crowd by means of an open call mostly through an Internet platform. Innovation intermediaries, in general sense, are organizations that work to enable innovation, that just act as brokers or agents between two or more parties. Usually, they are also engaged in other activities like inter-organizational networking and technology development and related activities. A crowdsourcing innovation intermediary is an organization that mediates the communication and relationship between the seekers – companies that aspire to solve some problem or to take advantage of any business opportunity – with a crowd that is prone to give ideas based on their knowledge, experience and wisdom. This paper identifies and analyses the functions to be performed by an intermediary of crowdsourcing innovation through grounded theory analyses from literature. The resulting model is presented and explained. The resulting model summarizes eight main functions that can be performed by a crowdsourcing process, namely, diagnoses, mediation, linking knowledge, community, evaluation, project management, intellectual property governance and marketing and support. These functions are associated with a learning cycle process which covers all the crowdsourcing activities that can be realized by the broker