Abstract
The major goal of knowledge management (KM) is to enhance innovation. Previous research on innovation and knowledge management has shown a positive relationship between innovation and effective knowledge management (Smith et al., 2005; Darroch & McNaughton, 2002; Dougherty et al., 2002; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Some scholars have maintained that the innovation that accelerates creative solutions depend greatly on the accumulation of new knowledge in an organization. Knowledge accumulated is the organization is essentially utilized by people via four major knowledge management processes. Unfortunately, KM literature overpraises the technological aspects neglecting the people dimensions and the soft aspect of people who actually possess the knowledge that could spark innovation. In a bid to fill this void, this paper contributions to knowledge by considering the need for a theoretical model of the attitudinal and behavioural conditions of the employees who engage in knowledge management processes to push the boundaries of their firm’s innovation capabilities.
Highlights
Most scholars (Storey & Kelly, 2002; Lin, 2001; Tsai, 2001) have expressed the spontaneous idea that knowledge is the most essential component in innovation
Davenport et al, (1998) expressed that if organizations aim at maximizing the benefits that could be derived from their knowledge management effectiveness, it is pertinent for such organizations to capitalize on investing in the development of organizational knowledge management systems that supports knowledge work and enhances organisational learning
This study considers the four major processes namely: knowledge discovery, knowledge capture, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application as the processes of knowledge management that could spark firm’s innovation capabilities. It considers the important organizational aspects the human aspects into account by considering the attitudinal and behavioural condition of employees that engage in knowledge management processes and innovation. This contribution is consistent with scholars’ argument that the failure of knowledge management practices could be ascribed to the too much importance placed on technological aspects and insufficient attention paid to the human aspect of knowledge (Beesley, 2004; Call, 2005; Cooper, 2006)
Summary
Most scholars (Storey & Kelly, 2002; Lin, 2001; Tsai, 2001) have expressed the spontaneous idea that knowledge is the most essential component in innovation. These authors maintain that the effective transfer of knowledge between groups and individuals is required to solve complex problems. This study considers the four major processes namely: knowledge discovery, knowledge capture, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application as the processes of knowledge management that could spark firm’s innovation capabilities It considers the important organizational aspects the human aspects into account by considering the attitudinal and behavioural condition of employees that engage in knowledge management processes and innovation. A research framework is provided to clearly express the theoretical position of the paper while the paper is concluded by emphasis on the need for further empirical validation
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