In the literature in the field of knowledge management (Steward A. T., 1997, p. 139; Dalkir K., 2005, p. 8) and intellectual capital management (Brooking A., 1998, p. 144) we can find different classifications of knowledge. It is mostly viewed as explicit and tacit knowledge (Nermien A.A., 2003, p. 84) and as market knowledge and technological knowledge (McKelvie A., 2007). Explicit knowledge is articulated in formal and systematic language. It can easily be transferred, and shared to other entities in the form of data, specification, manuals, etc. It can be found in plans, projects, patents and databases in an enterprise. It is stated that it is formal and documented (Nonaka I., Toyama R., Konno N., 2000). It can easily be downloaded and applied, …show more content…
This may have significant consequences on the functioning of an enterprise. The solution to this problem is, to some extent, in the codification of tacit knowledge. In other words, tacit knowledge becomes explicit knowledge by activities of codifying. Tacit knowledge, which an individual takes from an enterprise, can be protected by know-how (trade secret) or by a contract between the employee and the employer. This contract prohibits working in competitive firms, establishing business in the same industry and the like. Because knowledge of employees is the result of their experience and practice in an enterprise, it is not easily collected, shared and used by the enterprise (Krogh G., Nonaka I., Aben M., 2001). Market knowledge implies knowledge (information) about wishes and demands of customers, their needs and their business processes. The more you know about customers and markets, the greater the opportunities for invention and innovation. In addition, active monitoring of market signals is very important because it provides opportunities for creating …show more content…
This type of knowledge is more difficult to copy or find in competitive firms. This is because technological knowledge is harder to transfer; and it is developed by certain investments rather than on the basis of collection of generally available knowledge. Possession of technological knowledge is important for identifying opportunities and creating innovation for several reasons: a) increasing capabilities of an enterprise to assess reliability of new technologies and to assess the opportunities by expertise in creating an optimal product range; expertise in realizing the production process and; b) achieving more competitive i.e. lower prices of final products or services; c) understanding the competitors' actions faster and better, and g) creating inventions which actually represent new opportunities and chances for success in the market. Development and application of new knowledge is the basis for innovation, which confirms the strong link between knowledge and
"In a landmark 1945 essay on "The Use of Knowledge in Society," Frederick Hayek spoke about the time we spend in on-the-job learning, and about the unique "knowledge of people, of local conditions, and of special circumstances" we each accumulate through our work" (Arthur, Defillippi, & Lindsay, 2008, p. 365). The enabling the presence and growth of knowledge workers are the technological developments of information systems to improve ideally the productivity of various tasks. Knowledge is "one of the most important driving forces for business success" (Mansour, Alhawari, Talet & Al-Jarrah, 2011, p. 684). As an IT discipline, knowledge management is experiencing a history and evolution since the early 90's. The composition of the development of knowledge management systems include
The use of knowledge is imperative for the daily work of a project as large as the Mzansi shuttle. The Mzansi shuttle project is a multinational project due to the various groups of people from different countries being involved in it such as the Nigerian and South African’s that form part of the Dangote enterprise. International organizations have a high intake and a high output of information. The value of knowledge sharing has been recognized by most international and supranational bodies of knowledge and as such they have set up information and knowledge management programs. Many organizations consider information management as part of their internal procedures and remain tacit about their activities which may be expected from a venture such as the Mzansi shuttle project. (Ringel-Bickelmaier & Ringel 2010)
...s and partly, to gain a competitive advantages in the global market. Thus, the company spends billions of dollars in innovative research activities to add new knowledge into the existing knowledge.
Lytras, M. D. (2008). Knowledge management strategies: A handbook of applied technologies. Hershey: IGI Pub.
One of the ways in which product innovation may be stimulated is by the establishment of research and development department in the business concern. The research and development are now directed into computer, sales energy, material science and laser technology. The fast changes in technology also create problems for business as these render plants and products obsolete quickly. Product market technology matrix has a much shorter life today than in the past. A form which is unable to cope with the technological changes may not survive.
T.D. Wilson (2002) makes a point of identifying several sources of articles, references and course syllabi with varying takes on knowledge management within organizations. Wilson is convinced that organizations misuse the terminology “knowledge management” and that their activities are more concerned with managing information than with the management of knowledge (Wilson, 2002). Wilson defines knowledge as involving “the mental processes of comprehension” or, as “what we know” and information as the expression of what we know and can convey through messages (Wilson, 2002). By researching the use of the “knowledge management” Wilson conveys that the terms knowledge and information are used interchangeably, which results in an inaccurate application
Companies should also consider how they could protect the company’s knowledge advantage. If the organisation is hiring a lot of outside workforce, the same workers might also work for direct competitors. The loyalty of temporary workforce is not necessarily the same as permanent employees, who have formed lasting relations inside the
This wider definition relates the application of knowledge to the wider processes of business practices i.e. the production and promotion of goods and services. Further it indicates how technological de...
Introduction With today’s rate of development in technology, there has also been an immense increase in global information sharing. Innovations in technology and design seem to be emerging in the market almost every month. One of the key aspects of any business is to gather, organize and efficiently apply this information. According to Antonic (2005), economic assets are fast becoming of secondary importance in the market as companies ascribe more importance to intellectual capital. With the right application of knowledge management methods, companies can achieve a competitive advantage by managing the immense amount of information available (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2002).
Pasher, E., & Ronen, T. (2011). The complete guide to knowledge management: A strategic plan to leverage your company 's intellectual capital. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
The concept of core competence is somewhat significant in a business in terms of winning a sustainable competitive advantage (Boar, 2001). The competitiveness draws from an ability to build the core competencies that generate unanticipated products and services. Indeed, this should at least cost and steps ahead of competitors. In other words, the advantages originate from management’s capability to consolidate organization-wide technology and production skills into competencies that allow individual businesses to adapt quickly to changing opportunities (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). Meanwhile, the concept of dominant logic in a very influential paper defined the corporation perception's “core competence” as “the collective learning in the organization, especially how to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies.” Here again, it focuses on intangible and not tangible assets as a basis for competitive advantage in choosing and executing corporate strategy (Barney and Arikan, 2001).
Hansen M., Nohria N., and Tierney T. (1999), “What’s your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?,” Harvard Business Review (March 1999), 106–16.
Technologies and customers are firm competences that can be leveraged to build new firm competencies (Danneels, 2002). In order to have product innovation, companies should have technical competence, integration competence and market knowledge competence (Sheperd & Ahmed, 2000). Responsiveness to market intelligence improves innovation speed (Carbonell & Escudero, 2010). The faster the response, greater is the innovation speed. It has been researched that efficiency and efficacy are the dimensions of product innovation (Alegre, Chiva, & Lapiedra, 2006). Innovation speed plays an important role directly and indirectly, through the creation of positions of advantage, in enhancing new product performance (Carbonell & Rodriguez, 2006). Proactive market orientation and responsive market orientation have a positive total effect in improving product innovation performance (Zhang & Duan, 2010). In their study Espallardo & Ballester (2009) found that product innovation is found to be effective in influencing performance in firms with higher pressure from the five competitive forces, whereas no significant influence is found in firms in less hostile environments. If technology capable firms develop strategic flexibility in their resource allocation
In most organizations, effective utilization of knowledge increases productivity, creates competitive advantage and, ultimately, improves profits.
One of the most integral qualities of an entrepreneur as well as that of a successful business is the degree of innovation it possesses. Innovation refers to the creation of new ideas, improvement of existing production processes, and effective problem solving. Innovation allows for increased efficiency in a business, which in turn increases its supply potential and productive capacity. Being innovative may involve either improving upon old methods o...