The Integration of Innovation, Technology and Knowledge Management

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Knowledge Management

Knowledge management is a corporate procedure that is aimed at creating a centralized knowledge source within the confines of a company that acquires, assimilates, distributes, integrates, shares, retrieves, and reuses the intrinsic as well as extrinsic, tacit, and explicit knowledge to bring innovations within the corporation in terms of commodities, personnel, and procedures.

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Types of Knowledge

Michael Polanyi (1962) was the one to identify the dual nature of knowledge. It was then that knowledge was divided into 2 main categories, namely, tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Both of these are discussed in a detailed manner as follows:

Tacit Knowledge: This can be referred to as the ability, specialization, and logical thought process. Polyani put forward a stance that this type of knowledge is not just attributed to what is known but also to the knower itself. This is so because sometimes the extent of knowledge that is possessed by the knower is extensive, yet either they are not able to put forward the same in an effective manner or they do not possess the appropriate resources to circulate the knowledgebase among the people who need such information. This is a form of knowledge that is tough to acquire owing to its existence in terms of skill sets, capabilities, and ideologies possessed by personnel. This type of knowledge can just be observed by way of its implementation, and this is the reason behind the difficulty of capturing, exploiting, and diffusing tacit knowledge about the employees belonging to a corporation.

Explicit Knowledge: This can be defined as the knowledge that is distributed or transmitted in terms of hard data, standard principles, and well-defined processes. This is often referred to by some scholars and researchers as “knowledge of rationality.”. This kind of knowledge is easier to capture, manage, share, and disseminate among personnel belonging to a company.

Also Read: Effective Change Management Strategies in Business

Knowledge Management, Technology and Innovation

Innovation and technologies cannot be considered to be equivalent, even though innovation may be the aftereffect of the employment of new and extensive technologies. However, many times, innovation takes place owing to the robust and effective redeployment or blend of existing technological advances. Successful innovations should generate extensive value for clients in the initial step and afterward continue this value for a long time. Numerous new and great thoughts can be produced inside an organization; yet, only those that have a rate of return that is fundamentally higher than the cost of capital are referred to as innovations. This higher rate can legitimize assets for invigorating innovation compared with different other options and can likewise compensate for the dangers taken to come up with respective innovations. To gain success, business associations are required to develop their capabilities for management and sustainability of innovation by capitalizing on knowledge management and usage of new technologies. Apple Inc. is considered an eminent symbol of advancement by associating innovation with technological advancements to generate value within the modern computerized age economies. With time, this company has come up with market-disruptive products in seven fields, i.e., individual computing, animated films, music, mobile phones, tablet computing, digital publishing, and retail outlets. Apple Inc. consolidated innovative ideas with robust engineering techniques to enable the entailment of stunning accomplishments in terms of being the most appreciated tech organization within the confines of the USA. Especially, its brand iPhone is today renowned across the globe for the innovative features that are incorporated within each new addition of this smartphone model.

PLA Model and iPhone's story

In the modern era, the majority of companies across the globe are largely dependent upon their capability of delivering unique and enhanced offerings to the market at timely intervals. Knowledge management managers tend to play a crucial role in assisting such entities to become much more innovative. It can be inferred that creativity and innovation are the foundation stones of knowledge management, in the absence of which KM cannot take place. In this regard, it is ascertained that there is extensive lean time between the creation of new knowledge and its dissemination within the confines of the corporation to produce effective products and services. It is seen that the initiatives taken up in most companies to come up with innovations begin with the execution of brainstorming sessions whereby the entity takes into account the viewpoints of a large number of individuals to identify a potentially viable idea. In the modern era, top-notch firms across the globe are required to consolidate the measurement as well as management of organizational tangible assets with the assessment of knowledge assets. Innovation is extensively reliant upon the accessibility as well as abundance of knowledge within the organization. This has given rise to a model that seeks to plan, lead, and adapt new ideas to disrupt the marketplace by leveraging information technology systems. This model is known as PLA (Planning, Leading, Adapting). This dimensional approach aims at measuring and assessing the overall procedure to facilitate creativity in the phases of capturing and storage. It is after this that the stimulation of innovation takes place in the next stages of dissemination as well as implementation.

Planning: This can be referred to as the policies, methodology, and logic applied within steps 1 to 4 of the model to fulfill and supersede the perceived value of existing and future clients. It is important for a firm to effectively lay out an overview of the structure in which the process would take place and the people who would play a key role in its execution. The training needs of the assembly team are also ascertained hereby. The objectives are effectively laid down together with the constraints in which the KM system would operate, such as time, funds, and scope. This phase is primarily focused on ascertainment of the definition of customers and their needs. It is then that the goal as well as objective related to the KM system is set by existing and futuristic demands of clients. Hereby, a brainstorming team consisting of several critical and creative thinking personnel is formed.

Leading: This can be referred to as the extent and how stages 1 to 4 are executed through the creation of the necessary environment and sustenance of innovation capabilities for the implementation of policies as well as methods laid down under the planning stage of PLA. Further, it includes defining the indicators for monitoring as well as the measurement of success at every stage of the KM model and then quantifying. To facilitate this, a data collection plan is created which documents the stages that are required to be quantified. Selection of KPI as well as metrics takes place, after which data is gathered and indicators are measured. Hereby, new ideas are made accessible to be evaluated by potential buyers.

Adapting: This reflects upon the assessment of the 2 prior stages, namely, planning and leading, to ensure appropriate alterations to facilitate the execution of KM steps. This helps in indulging and reacting to clients as well as stakeholders. Adapting emphasizes the indicators for reducing the gap that underlies the actual and desired performance of the system. Adapting also ensures that performance enhancement takes place within the system. This is institutionalized by altering policies, processes, and incentive systems. These alterations can be plotted at a small level to ascertain the sustainability and then executed on an extensive level. Thus, another team of specialists is formed to convert ideas into reality.

It very well may be derived that KM is the core competency of Apple Inc., which is shown in its corporate culture to exploit new market space and give a comprehension of predictive markets, at last converting it into astounding offerings items and brand devotion of clients. Apple's culture and knowledge-sharing initiative were embedded by its incredible leader, the late Steve Jobs, when he made Apple University to guarantee the progression of his vision. He capitalized on Yale and Harvard academics to show the organization's history to Apple administrators. This activity demonstrates the responsibility of Steve Jobs to oversee the flow of knowledge within the confines of the company. As opposed to the existing business pattern towards straightforwardness and flat chains of command, Apple Inc. has savagely empowered mystery, silos, and a startup attitude to foster the development of one of its most renowned brands, the iPhone. This is an exceptional demonstration of technology and innovation wrapped up together in the mobile technology industry. The entity thus charges premium prices from customers in return. In this regard, Apple's marketing efforts oppose the imparting of data and effectively look to preserve it. Regardless of all of these and the absence of direct information on what precisely is occurring within the confines of Apple Inc., the illustration of the iPhone's innovation can be seen. The company leverages its command over knowledge management and utilization of information technology systems to generate a brand that seems worthy of its cost to customers. The iPhone is thus seen as a market disruptive brand, which illustrates the integration of innovation, technology, and KM.

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