A Case Study on the Implementation of A Knowledge Management Strategy Oriented to Innovation

A critical aspect of business management is the successful creation of processes which drive thedevelopment of a continuous flow of innovation, to give a basis for competitive advantage. Toreach this goal, the establishing of a knowledge management (KM) strategy may be consideredthe best way to channel the organization’s efforts to this end. Knowledge management isunderstood in a wide sense as a process of overall change in the organization, focused on innovation,and especially related to the participation of every employee in the processes of creationand transmission of knowledge. This study analyzes the implementation of an innovation andKM strategy in the Irizar......
Nội dung trích xuất từ tài liệu:
A Case Study on the Implementation of A Knowledge Management Strategy Oriented to Innovation Knowledge and Process Management Volume 9 Number 3 pp 162–171 (2002) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/kpm.143& Case StudyA Case Study on the Implementation ofA Knowledge Management StrategyOriented to InnovationFrancisco J. Forcadell1* and Fatima Guadamillas2 ´1 Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain2 Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Spain A critical aspect of business management is the successful creation of processes which drive the development of a continuous flow of innovation, to give a basis for competitive advantage. To reach this goal, the establishing of a knowledge management (KM) strategy may be considered the best way to channel the organization’s efforts to this end. Knowledge management is understood in a wide sense as a process of overall change in the organization, focused on inno- vation, and especially related to the participation of every employee in the processes of creation and transmission of knowledge. This study analyzes the implementation of an innovation and KM strategy in the Irizar company, a maker of luxury coach bodywork. According to The Economist Intelligence Unit, Irizar is the most efficient company in the world in its sector. Irizar’s success has been built on a system of self-management and participation, organizing its activity into processes and using multidisciplinary work teams. This type of organization has outstripped the traditional model, based on functions and the division of labour, and has permitted a centering of effort on those activities which add value. Another defining char- acteristic of Irizar is its combination of continuous improvement with radical changes and pro- cess re-engineering. A series of organizational factors are extracted from the case study which were successful in implementing the strategy. The study shows how the organization achieved the promotion of experience transmission and the generation of continuous innovation. It also makes clear that the firm’s values and corporate culture are essential for success in this process. Copyright # 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.INTRODUCTION its ability to combine knowledge-based capabilities and so make better use of them (Kogut and Zander,The knowledge management (KM) strategy is 1992). New resources and generated capabilitiesunderstood, within a resource-based view of the are difficult to imitate; these become the nucleusfirm, as an overall change process and a form of of a competitive advantage, so resulting in higherorganisational renewal, focused on innovation, profitability (Drucker, 1993).through the creation, transmission and application This study analyzes the implementation processof new knowledge (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). used for a KM strategy in a case where a companyThe implementation of a KM strategy allows carried it out successfully, definitively orienting theimprovement of the firm’s learning capability and organization towards continuous change, learning and innovation. The study first defines some con- cepts relating to KM and innovation. Then the*Correspondence to: F. J. Forcadell, Universidad Rey JuanCarlos, Paseo de los Artilleros s/n, 28032 Madrid, Spain. implementation process for the strategy is ana-E-mail: frforcad@poseidon.fcjs.urjc.es lyzed. This analysis permits the setting out of aCopyright # 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Knowledge and Process Management CASE STUDYseries of essential factors in the success of the creation does not consist of the processing of infor-process and the advances made in KM in relation mation or data, since the obtaining of tacit knowl-to innovation. These include the main factors in edge, which cannot be directly processed, is athe firm’s strategic change that the implementation fundamental part of this phase. It allows for theof such a strategy involves, between which there development of improvements and innovationsmust be a fit. Finally some conclusions are obtained on products and processes, capable of creatingand discussed. value, which then become part of the new knowl- edge in the system. ...