Knowledge management in product innovation: an interpretative review

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) is relatively new, but still a very hot topic in management research and practice. Leading companies are reshaping their organizations in order to increase their ability in managing knowledge sharing and transfer within and across their organizational boundaries. KM is today considered by many scholars the next arena for global competition. Product innovation (PI), in particular, is one of the most promising areas, where KM is today applied and studied. Management literature has underlined how knowledge becomes the only source of sustainable competitive advantage in turbulent contexts, and the cognitive perspective represents the most adequate approach to analysing and understanding PI as a continuous learning process rather than as a sporadic event. Since the early 1990s, many contributions emerged from different fields, but after nearly one decade, KM is not yet a unitary stream of literature but reflects very diverse roots. In this paper, the different streams and approaches emerging in literature on KM in PI are reviewed and described, aiming at providing researchers with an interpretative tool and some directions for further research.

Collaborative innovation with suppliers: a conceptual model for characterising supplier contributions to NPD

“…The articles and journals part of the review Articles Journal Number of articles ( (Appleyard, 2003, Bonaccorsi and Lipparini, 1994, Droge et al, 2000, Lau et al, 2010, Lee and Veloso, 2008, Petersen et al, 2003, Sanchez and Perez, 2003, Song and Thieme, 2009, Tatikonda and Stock, 2003, Un, CuervoCazurra and Asakawa, 2010, van Echtelt et al, 2008, Wynstra et al, 2010 Journal of Product Innovation Management 12 (Aylen, 2010, Bidault et al, 1998, Bozdogan et al, 1998, Lakemond et al, 2006a, Mikkola, 2003, Schiele, 2010, Song et al, 2006, Veganti, 1997) R&D Management 8 (Belderbos et al, 2004, Bidault, Despres and Butler, 1998, Chung and Kim, 2003, Laamanen, 2005, Sobrero and Roberts, 2002, Tsai, 2009 Research Policy 6 (Corso et al, 2001, Fliess and Becker, 2006, Jaspers and van den Ende, 2006, Johnsen and Ford, 2007, Schiele, 2006, Wagner and Hoegl, 2006, Wynstra et al, 2003 Industrial Marketing Management 7 , Hua and Wemmerlov, 2006, Reed and Walsh, 2002, van Echtelt et al, 2007Ro, 2008 ) IEEE (Langner and Seidel, 2009…”

“…For a single firm it is almost impossible to manage the knowledge necessary for product innovation completely internally (Corso et al, 2001). Many firms have become specialized nodes within complex and dynamic knowledge creating networks.…”

Supply chain knowledge management: A literature review

“…Corso, Martini, Paolucci and Pellegrini (2001) conducted a literature review on knowledge management in product innovation. Both exploration and exploitation activities were described.…”

Supplier integration for new product developments : antecedents for supplier integration in modular product designs

“…In consequence, OEMs can barely develop new products solely with internal resources (Corso, Martini, Paolucci, & Pellegrini, 2001;Eisenhardt & Schoonhoven, 1996;Grant & Baden-Fuller, 2004). To overcome bottlenecks of resource and to create competitive advantages, OEMs, therefore, integrate suppliers in new product developments (NPD) (Bonaccorsi & Lipparini, 1994;Droege, Jayaram, & Vickery, 2000;Jaakkola & Hakanen, 2013).…”

“…However, in today's complex technological environment, internal resources of a company are barely sufficient to develop innovative products (Corso et al, 2001;Grant & Baden-Fuller, 2004). Since the first studies on Japanese manufacturing practices, the importance of the integration of suppliers in new product development processes has been highlighted (Clark, 1989;Narasimhan & Kim, 2002).…”