Creation of innovation by knowledge management – A case study of a learning software organisation

Abstract

Within the paradigm of the "knowledge driven economy" the role of knowledge in fostering innovative products, services and processes has been increasingly realised by academics and practitioners in recent years. Although considerable effort has been undertaken to point out the importance of knowledge within innovation systems and to investigate patterns of knowledge creation and transformation the measurement of its impact on innovation is still not based on sufficient empirical basis. The study CIKM, "Creation of Innovation through Knowledge Management", sponsored by the European Commission through the IST Project No. IST-2001-34442, investigates the impact of knowledge management on innovation performance at company level. The project conducts empirical research across four European countries and four industry sectors. One of the four industrial sectors investigated is the software sector; seen as a dynamic, innovative sector with a requirement for high speed of knowledge creation and diffusion.