Critical Overview on Innovation and Knowledge Processes - Literature review Example

Critique of the Literature Review relating to Innovation Dynamics and Knowledge Processes and Section # of Name> This paper is intended to critically analyze the literature provided in the chapter titled Innovation Dynamics & Knowledge Process. Innovation dynamics are defined by Frappaolo (2006) and Davenport (2000) as the rules that lead the definition of innovation or the fundamental rules that define a product or service being innovative. Innovation dynamics are generally considered to be technology oriented and in terms of advancements in computerization as it is known to be. Along the similar lines, knowledge management is also linked towards innovation management. Knowledge management though implies in its literal terms as a process or procedure used within organizations through which experiences, views, opinions and conclusions (knowledge) is shared amongst peers and other individuals. Lately, knowledge processes have been identified as an integral input towards innovation dynamics. The following is a discussion on how knowledge management influences the innovation dynamics. The gurus of the subject proclaim knowledge management as a provider of strong roots for higher efficacy level in innovation dynamics. In particular with the ever rapidly changing dynamic and competitive markets that exist today, Dalkir (2005) states that the businesses have to look forward for technological advancements, embedded with experiences of the past ‘grey-hair’ individuals, holding experience of decades. The innovation dynamics existing today in the present century are bound to affect the current business outlook, and some of the most influential factors are as follows: Rapidly moving market cycles in particular with reference to globalization Reducing ages of product life cycle Increasing customization Increasing entrepreneurship Technological advancements Therefore, it can be safely assumed that technology would have a significant impact on the way managers in the future entertain a situation. Innovation does not apply to the product but to the processes as well; many a times an innovative move in the process gives a big boost to the product features and entitlements. Innovation, at its grass roots is supported by knowledge management, and its description is discussed as follows. In accordance with the Harvard Business Review (1998), knowledge really defines the basis of innovation, leading in turn towards developing a competitive advantage, which is critical for sustainability in the markets. As illustrated from experiences and extracted from various literature, for survival and sustainability in a cut throat competition that exists today, it is critical for a firm to develop a competitive advantage; though one would really want this to be un-replicable but today due to the existing advances in technology, spying and other advancements, it is not possible to retain a competitive advantage for a longer period of time – technologies and processes are replicated, while human resource is hired at better salaries. In such a scenario, it is critical to keep the competitive advantage moving forward, from one point to the other. For this, innovation dynamics become a critical success factor especially in today’s situation, because consistent innovation gives a cutting edge to the firm. There is a separate case for one time innovation and that for consistency in innovation. For one time innovation, there are various mechanisms but when streamlining innovation for consistency, it needs input from the experienced gurus of the firm, who have seen and understood customer requirements and customer demands for changes. Accordingly, herewith, knowledge becomes a basis for innovation dynamics. Additionally, innovation can also be assumed as a product of knowledge management as discussed below. Before proceeding forth, there is stress on Nonaka’s dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. In accordance with this theory, Hislop (2009) states that organizational knowledge can be and is created by means of continuous dialogues. These dialogues take place between inferred and unambiguous knowledge by means of four patterns: (i) interactions (ii) socialization (iii) combination and (iv) internalization and externalization. Inferred knowledge is transferred by using formal language, while the later is depicted by means of commitment and action. In the days of knowledge management that exists today, Frappaolo (2006) states that the role of knowledge in enhancing products, services and processes has been on the rise, and this enhancement has been by means of innovation, and this fact has been quoted by various academics and practitioners. Several researches have taken place that closely monitor and measure the impact of knowledge towards innovation. The evidences yield depict that knowledge transforms towards innovative systems and thus impacting the organizational and regional competencies. Knowledge management has been defined in this context as the framework that evaluates, incorporates and applies a fluid mix of experiences and information towards their applicability. In the same pre-text, the phenomenon of successful innovation has also been defined as something that gives the company a unique edge that its competitor don’t have or lack apparently. In the following paragraphs, some applications of knowledge management towards innovation dynamics are being discussed. One of the most interesting applications of knowledge management is towards the development of data warehousing. Data warehousing can be defined as a repository of data, whereby data of decades and decades is present in a predefined format, whereby, it can be sorted and various ad hoc queries can be run to obtain the required output. A classical example of the same is trend analyses. Data warehouses have been identified as a very appropriate and reliable technique to develop trends across varying scenarios such as over the period of years, seasonal cycles, etc. For example, PEPSI from its various customer feedbacks realized that the customers paying a certain amount say X for a 250 ml bottle are ready to pay X+Y (where Y Read More