Knowledge co-creation and effective knowledge sharing boost innovativeness in companies. However, rapidly developing technologies and constant changes in the business environment challenge the companies’ practices for knowledge management (KM). The purpose of this paper is to compare the key KM practices and their effect on open innovation between the small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and the large companies, and as empirical focus, comparing them through quantitative survey and complementary qualitative interviews. The results indicate that large companies are more externally open to innovate than SMEs and the large companies also value open dialog and knowledge sharing more. Whereas, SMEs seem to rely more on developing their internal practices to support innovativeness. In the both company sizes technology is used rather poorly to support access to open data and networks. The identified factors provide insights for developing KM practices that support open innovation in varying sizes of companies.

No abstract

Value creation in the circular economy (CE) is a result of co-creation. In the industrial context, the theme of collaboration has been studied extensively on a company-to-company basis, but related public agency remains unexplored. Still, circular actions happen in societal contexts where public actors and logics are constantly present, enabling the change toward more sustainable actions. For systematic discovery of the topic, the following research questions are considered: (a) What roles can a public actor have in an industrial CE ecosystem? (b) What are the relationship modes a public actor can have? (c) In what kind of actor structures may the roles and modes occur? The study relies on two multiple case studies in the international (Study 1) and Finnish eco-industrial parks (Study 2) contexts. The results are based on qualitative content analysis conducted with both primary and secondary data. As a result, six distinct roles—operator, organizer, financer, supporter, policymaker, and regulator—and two modes—facilitative and dirigiste—for public agency in industrial CE ecosystems were identified. The roles depict the concrete means used by public actors whereas the modes depict the characteristics of these actions. Finally, exemplar organization models for the recognized roles and modes in industrial CE ecosystems were examined. The study provides insights into how public actors can contribute to sustainability transitions among their territories and helps practitioners to better understand the premises for public–private interaction.

Hannele Väyrynen is a Postdoc Researcher in the Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University (Finland). Through the lens of information and knowledge management, her research interests focus on innovation management, data and information visualization, and design processes. In several of her research projects, the focus has been on company interaction.Nina Helander, Professor of Knowledge Management, works at Tampere University as Head of the Unit of Information and Knowledge Management and as a leader of the NOVI research group. Her research focuses especially on digitalization, value creation, and knowledge management. She has led several multidisciplinary research projects, including projects that have focused on digitalization and data-based value creation. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Information Systems at the University of Jyväskylä.Harri Jalonen works as Professor at the University of Vaasa, Finland. His research interests cover among others the interplay between knowing and ignorance, the service-dominant logic of value creation, the dynamics of systemic change, and the pros and cons of innovation management. He has published around 100 scientific articles, conference papers, books, or book sections and around 100 articles in newspapers, trade magazines, and blog notes. He has managed around 20 international and national research projects. He is also a reviewer for many scientific academic journals, research grant applications, and committee member of international conferences.Public innovation and digitalization are reshaping organizations and society in various ways and within multiple fields, as innovations are essential in transforming our world and addressing global sustainability and development challenges. This book addresses the fascinating relationship between these two contemporary topics and explores the role of digital transformation in promoting public innovation.This edited collection includes examples of innovations that emerge suddenly, practices for processing innovations, and the requirements for transformation from innovation to the "new normal". Acknowledging that public innovation refers to the development and realization of new and creative ideas that challenge conventional wisdom and disrupt the established practices within a specific context, expert contributions from international scholars explore and illustrate the various activities that are happening in the world of multiple digitalization opportunities. The content covers public administration, technical and business management, human, social, and future sciences, paying attention to the interaction between public and private sectors to utilize digitalization in order to facilitate public innovation.This timely book will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the fields of technology and innovation management, as well as knowledge management, public service management, and administration.

No abstract