Abstract
To be competitive in current knowledge economy, startup companies should effectively use available knowledge to implement their development strategies. Consequently, it is necessary to identify which knowledge management (KM) practices are used by startup companies. This paper aims to identify KM practices used to overcome critical factors of startups’ development in Brazil. It will be discussed the relation between the critical factors of startup development and the KM practices used. Interviews were conducted with startups established in business incubators in the southern region of Brazil. Results demonstrated that the main KM practices used to overcome critical factors of startup development – Opportunity Recognition, Entrepreneurial Commitment, Credibility and Sustainability – are related to company's internal knowledge. Internal knowledge is a company asset, which includes not only R&D activities but also its actions and routines. An important remark was that even though startups are not aware of KM practices, they have organized routines and standards aligned with current KM theories.
Highlights
The development of innovative products and processes has driven the development of companies through the years
The review of knowledge management practices of Baskerville and Dulipovici (2006) was used, in addition to other articles which analyzed these practices and the relation of knowledge and firm performance (Audretsch & Keilbach, 2007; Bembenek & Piecuch, 2014; Bender & Fish, 2000; LópezNicolás & Merono-Cerdán, 2011; Mills & Smith, 2011; Mosconi & Roy, 2013; Naicker, 2013; Warren, Patton, & Bream, 2009). Based on these two articles, an exploratory case study was conducted with startup companies established in business incubators in the southern region of Brazil. It was observed which knowledge management practices were described in relation to critical factors of startup development
As the concept of information economics describes the use of knowledge in companies’ practices, the knowledge management theories described by this concept will be analyzed from an entrepreneurial point of view, evaluating which one should be used by startup companies to overcome critical factors in their development
Summary
The development of innovative products and processes has driven the development of companies through the years. We were not able to identify articles that described which knowledge management practices were involved in the creation and development of startups. Aiming to fill this gap in the literature, this article intends to identify the knowledge management practices used to overcome the critical factors of startup companies’ development.
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