Innovating with Strangers; Managing Knowledge Barriers Across Distances in Cross-Industry Innovation

Abstract

We explore the types of knowledge barriers that are encountered at organizational level in cross-industry innovation, what influences them and how they can be overcome. Eleven cross-industry projects were qualitatively analyzed at the individual level of activity. Innovation collaboration occurred at three levels; intra-organizational, inter-organizational, and inter-institutional. Each level exhibited added relational distances as well as semantic and pragmatic barriers, of which the latter type was the most challenging. Effort necessary to overcome knowledge barriers accumulated at each level. Knowledge barriers were increased by legitimacy differences and communicational deficiencies, and lowered by reduction of interdependencies, use of knowledge brokers, and previous cross-industry experience.