Background and scope of the special issue on "Innovations driven by knowledge management

Citation

Bosilj Vukšić, V. and Pejić Bach, M. (2015), "Background and scope of the special issue on "Innovations driven by knowledge management", Baltic Journal of Management, Vol. 10 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-07-2015-0145

Background and scope of the special issue on "Innovations driven by knowledge management"

Article Type: Editorial From: Baltic Journal of Management, Volume 10, Issue 4.

This special issue of the Baltic Journal of Management is motivated by the need to consider the influence of knowledge management (KM) on innovations. Innovation has become one of the top priorities for organizations that want to achieve competitive advantage. The results of previous research indicate that KM has a high impact on organizational performance since it provides organizations with a highly effective framework for implementing their innovation strategies (Ciabuschi and Martin, 2012; Moustaghfir and Schiuma, 2013; Quintane et al., 2011; Rasmunsen, 2011). It can be considered as a key leverage for enhancing the innovation capability of organizations (Lee et al., 2013; Lin et al., 2012; Yang and Rui, 2009). Organizations rely on the knowledge, experience and skills of employees in the innovation creation process (Delgado-Verde et al., 2011). Besides, innovation processes are very dynamic and highly interactive, involving multiple participants distributed within and outside the organization. Such an interactive environment must be supported by information technology in order to ensure the success of innovation process (Massa and Testa, 2011; Barbaroux, 2012; Ribiere and Tuggle, 2010).

However, there is a lack of empirical findings about the influence of KM on the innovation capability of organizations. Existing studies also rarely discuss integrated approach to KM that would take into account both soft and hard practical and theoretical issues in KM in organizations. Therefore, the aim of the special issue was to develop new and extend the existing theoretical and empirical findings on KM in organizations from the perspective of innovations. The six papers published here extend the empirical evidence about the impact of KM on innovation and discuss intriguing barriers and incentives to effective innovations and KM in organizations from different countries, cultures, sectors and levels of development. The papers have adopted different methodological approaches. Three papers are based on surveys, two papers presents results of case studies, while one paper is focussed on the theoretical findings.

The first paper, written by authors Aurora Garrido-Moreno, Nigel Lockett and Victor Garcia-Morales, presents a research model exploring the link between KM processes and customer relationship management (CRM). It is based on the data obtained from service companies and the authors use a structural equation modeling analysis. The results suggest that both technological and organizational readiness were effective drivers of KM. Furthermore, a real impact of KM processes on CRM was confirmed. The findings can help companies to implement successfully those initiatives.

In the second paper (Tatjana Stanovcic, Sanja Pekovic and Amira Bouziri), the relationship between KM practices and environmental innovation is analyzed empirically (two French surveys were employed). The study results show that a culture intended to promote KM sharing has a more substantial impact on green innovation than a written policy of KM. The econometric estimations confirmed that KM can boost environmental innovation, which also enhances firm business performance. From the perspective of business practice, the results show that managers should be aware that different KM practices have different impact on different performance outcomes, therefore managers should implement KM practices that fit their performance strategy.

The third paper (Henri Tapio Inkinen, Aino Kianto and Mika Vanhala) explores the impact of KM practices on innovation performance. This study is valuable from a theoretical perspective because of the division of KM practices into ten types and the provision of the validated scales for measuring these. The results of the empirical research which are based on survey data collected in Finland provide evidence on how various KM practices influence innovation performance. The authors find that firms are capable of supporting innovation performance through strategic management of knowledge and competence, knowledge-based compensation practices and information technology practices.

The paper by Anton Manfreda, Brina Buh and Mojca Indihar Štemberger presents a case study of a business process management (BPM) project in the public sector, where most processes are knowledge-intensive. It shows that the main phases of BPM project can be the same as in a typical project, but proper project management, communication, the active role of top management and the involvement of external consultants during BPM project are very important. The paper contributes to the theoretical and practical perspective of BPM concept in the case of knowledge-intensive business processes.

The fifth paper (Kurmet Kivipõld) explores how organizational leadership capability as a knowledge coordinating mechanism affects service organization activities toward different stakeholder groups. The data for this case study were collected in four Estonian service companies. The results reveal that organizational leadership capability plays an important role in the coordination of knowledge in service organizations. In addition, better use of knowledge coordinating mechanism allows organizations to behave more innovatively toward different groups of stakeholders in terms of corporate social responsibility. The guidelines given in this paper can help business practitioners generate innovative behavior in organizations.

The last paper by Dejana Zlatanović and Matjaž Mulej introduces the concept of knowledge-cum-values management and shows how some soft systems approaches can support interdependence of knowledge and human values resulting in socially responsible innovative behavior. This research is based on theoretical findings resulting from the authors’ previous research indicating that holistic knowledge-cum-value management is a valuable driver of innovation. From the practical side, the application of the selected soft systems approaches and social responsibility offers the great opportunity for managers to improve the holism of their innovation processes driven by knowledge-cum-values management.

The findings of the papers in this special issue expand insights into how KM drives innovation. The presented research provides technical and business leaders with useful insight, helping them to prioritize their KM efforts in order to increase organizational performance and accelerate innovation. These research results can also motivate other researchers to enhance theoretical frameworks and models of innovations driven by KM.

Professor Vesna Bosilj Vukšić and Professor Mirjana Pejić Bach - Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

References

Barbaroux, P. (2012), “Identifying collaborative innovation capabilities within knowledge-intensive environments – insights from the ARPANET project”, European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 232-258

Ciabuschi, B. and Martin Martin, O. (2012), “Knowledge ambiguity, innovation and subsidiary performance”, Baltic Journal of Management, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 143-166

Delgado-Verde, M., Martın-de Castro, G. and Navas-Lopez, J.E. (2011), “Organizational knowledge assets and innovation capability: evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 5-19

Lee, V., Leong, L., Hew, T. and Ooi, K. (2013), “Knowledge management: a key determinant in advancing technological innovation?”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 17 No. 6, pp. 848-872

Lin, R., Che, R. and Ting, C. (2012), “Turning knowledge management into innovation in the high-tech industry”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 112 No. 1, pp. 42-63

Massa, S. and Testa, S. (2011), “Knowledge domain and innovation behaviour – a framework to conceptualize KMSs in small and medium enterprises”, VINE: The Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 483-504

Moustaghfir, K. and Schiuma, G. (2013), “Knowledge, learning, and innovation: research and perspectives”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 495-510

Quintane, E., Casselman, R.M., Reiche, B.S. and Nylund, P.A. (2011), “Innovation as a knowledge-based outcome”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 928-947

Rasmunsen, N. (2011), “Knowledge management in the firm: concepts and issues”, International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 32 Nos 5/6, pp. 479-493

Ribiere, V.M. and Tuggle, F.D. (2010), “Fostering innovation with KM 2.0”, VINE: The Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 90-101

Yang, J. and Rui, M. (2009), “Turning knowledge into new product creativity: an empirical study”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 109 No. 9, pp. 1197-1210