Presents an analysis of the business model unique to Japanese firms, emphasising four special features: the vertical value chain model, cross-industry collaboration, dynamic knowledge integration, and strategic innovation capability. This book also emphasises on inter- and intra-organizational collaboration as a source of strategic innovation.
Since the 1990s, Japanese firms have sought to expand their capacity for innovation by incorporating Western management practices into their organizational culture. This combination of Japanese and Western management practices has been highly successful — Japanese firms are presently at the forefront of technological and service innovation in areas such as digital consumer electronics, mobile phone services, and the games industry. Much can be learned from the success of Japanese companies in these areas.This book presents an analysis of the business model unique to Japanese firms, emphasising four special features: the vertical value chain model, cross-industry collaboration, dynamic knowledge integration, and strategic innovation capability. Drawing upon in-depth case studies, this book presents a new theory of knowledge integration, and places special emphasis on inter- and intra-organizational collaboration as a source of strategic innovation. It is a good reference source for academics, graduate students and professionals in the field of innovation management.
Technology-based firms continue to compete primarily on innovation, and one continuously required to present new solutions to an exacting market. As technological complexity and specialization intensifies, firms increasingly need to integrate and co-ordinate knowledge by means of project groups, diversified organizations, inter-organizational partnerships, and strategic alliances. Innovation processes have progressively become interdisciplinary, collaborative, inter-organizational, and international, and a firm's ability to synthesize knowledge across disciplines, organizations, and geographical locations has a major influence on its viability and success. This book demonstrates how knowledge integration is crucial in facilitating innovation within modern firms. This book provides original, detailed empirical studies of prerequisites, mechanisms, and outcomes of knowledge integration processes on several organizational levels, from key individuals, projects, and internal organizations, to collaboration between firms. It stresses the need to understand knowledge integration as a multi-level phenomenon, which requires a broad repertoire of organizational and technical means. It further clarifies the need for strong internal capabilities for exploiting external knowledge, reveals how costs of knowledge integration affect outcomes and strategic decisions, and discusses the managerial implications of fostering knowledge integration, providing practical guidance and support for managers of knowledge integration in high technology enterprises.
Knowledge integration-the purposeful combination of specialized and complementary knowledge to achieve specific tasks-is increasingly important for organizations. This book offers a consistent set of ideas, methods and tools useful to interpret, analyze and act upon the processes of knowledge integration across organizational and other boundaries.
Im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung müssen Unternehmen ihre Prozesse, Produkte und Geschäftsmodelle anpassen, um ihre Innovations- sowie Wettbewerbsfähigkeit aufrecht zu erhalten. Aufgrund dessen müssen Unternehmen ihre bestehenden Kompetenzen erneuern, indem sie neues Wissen aus der digitalen Sphäre wertstiftend integrieren. Dies stellt jedoch eine erhebliche Herausforderung dar, insbesondere für etablierte Unternehmen, da die konvergente und generative Natur der digitalen Innovation nicht nur den Prozess der Wissensintegration dynamischer macht, sondern auch die Vielfalt und Menge des Wissens erhöht, das über die Unternehmensgrenzen hinweg integriert werden muss. Um diese Herausforderung näher zu beleuchten und Lösungsansätze zu evaluieren, wurden vier Studien durchgeführt und in dieser kumulativen Dissertation zusammengestellt. Diese Studien geben Einblicke in die Besonderheiten der Wissensintegration im Kontext digitaler Innovationen und fördern das Verständnis dafür, wie etablierte Unternehmen die damit verbundenen Herausforderungen bewältigen können. Dabei wird insbesondere der Einsatz von Grenzressourcen, wie bspw. Programmierschnittstellen (APIs), untersucht, da sie einen wesentlichen Mechanismus zur Skalierung der Wissensintegration in digital(isierenden) Geschäftsökosystemen darstellen. In the age of digitalization, companies need to adapt their processes, products, and business models to maintain their capability to innovate and thus to ensure their competitiveness. As a result, companies need to renew their existing competencies by integrating new and valuable knowledge from the digital sphere. However, this poses a significant managerial challenge, especially for established companies, as the convergent and generative nature of digital innovation not only makes the process of knowledge integration more dynamic, but also increases the diversity and amount of knowledge that needs to be integrated across organizational boundaries. To shed more light on this challenge and evaluate possible solutions, four studies were conducted and compiled in this cumulative dissertation. These studies provide insights into the unique nature of knowledge integration in the context of digital innovation and advance the understanding of how incumbent firms can address the associated challenges. In particular, the use of boundary resources such as application programming interfaces (APIs) is examined, as they represent a key mechanism for scaling knowledge integration in digital(izing) business ecosystems.
Technology-based firms continue to compete primarily on innovation, and one continuously required to present new solutions to an exacting market. As technological complexity and specialization intensifies, firms increasingly need to integrate and co-ordinate knowledge by means of project groups, diversified organizations, inter-organizational partnerships, and strategic alliances. Innovation processes have progressively become interdisciplinary, collaborative, inter-organizational, and international, and a firm's ability to synthesize knowledge across disciplines, organizations, and geographical locations has a major influence on its viability and success. This book demonstrates how knowledge integration is crucial in facilitating innovation within modern firms. This book provides original, detailed empirical studies of prerequisites, mechanisms, and outcomes of knowledge integration processes on several organizational levels, from key individuals, projects, and internal organizations, to collaboration between firms. It stresses the need to understand knowledge integration as a multi-level phenomenon, which requires a broad repertoire of organizational and technical means. It further clarifies the need for strong internal capabilities for exploiting external knowledge, reveals how costs of knowledge integration affect outcomes and strategic decisions, and discusses the managerial implications of fostering knowledge integration, providing practical guidance and support for managers of knowledge integration in high technology enterprises.
Illustrating the interdisciplinary implications for research on creativity development, this book focuses on the new concept of ‘knowledge differences’ that arise between people, organizations and various phenomena. It describes how these key differences create boundaries knowledge, a dynamic process that accelerates innovation.
Exploring the theoretical concept of collaborative dynamic capabilities, this book illustrates how service innovation can be achieved in an era of technological convergence. Focusing on e-healthcare systems within hospitals and private businesses, the author provides detailed case studies and answers topical questions about generating service innovation across different industries. Making a new and thought-provoking contribution to research on innovation and technology management, this useful book engages with theory and provides applicable solutions for practitioners to implement in the future.
Management of knowledge in project environments is a unique text that brings together contributions from leading academic practitioners, to demonstrate how the management of knowledge can lead to project success in today's complex and changing business environment. The work examines how the management of knowledge, particularly the sharing of knowledge and the importance of learning through reflection, can lead to project success and improved business performance. This book is written by an international contributor team and offers practical applications, models and case studies from a variety of international perspectives.