Knowledge based development of innovative companies within the framework of innovation networks

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study ties between knowledge based cooperation and innovative development of companies within the framework of external innovation networks, at home and abroad. The paper also presents the network model of the innovative company knowledge management (KM) in a innovation process and describes synergy effects of knowledge based cooperation (i.e. interorganizational KM and knowledge based relationships and learning) of the innovative company within innovation networks. The aim of a questionnaire, which was collected from 64 innovative companies, was to determine the effectiveness of interorganizational knowledge based coopetition (cooperation and/or competition) of companies within the innovation networks and influence of them on innovative development of companies. The key research questions the survey addressed were: How many and which types of outside collaborators did innovative firms cooperate within innovation networks, at home and/or abroad? What internal and external (domestic and foreign) sources of knowledge did the innovative companies use for innovations? How did innovative companies assess effectiveness of their knowledge based cooperation with respectively domestic or foreign collaborators, of various types, within innovation networks? Finally, the paper estimates the results of using chi-square test for independence research of knowledge based cooperation efficiency (which is connected with development) of innovative companies on their adequately home or foreign collaborators within innovation networks.