Can Knowledge Management Drive Radical Innovation?

 

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of radical innovation for organizations' survival. This article explores the interplay between knowledge management and radical innovation, viewing the concept under the umbrella of dynamic capabilities. Additionally, it discusses the potential impact of AI and Big Data on innovation in knowledge-intensive industries.

Knowledge Management and Radical Innovation

As research shows, radical innovation is key to ensuring an organization's sustained growth. Dynamic capabilities such as knowledge management play a key role in driving innovation, particularly the subsets of knowledge sharing, transfer, and creation. However, as Open Innovation has shown, innovation can also be driven through partnerships with other entities, even academia.

Can AI Promote Radical Innovation?

Despite the recent hype surrounding AI, it has not been extensively considered in mainstream media's associations with radical innovation. Therefore, we must ask how AI will impact innovation: is its discussion surrounding the trust factor or its significant potential to drive Big Data analysis? AI and Machine Learning (ML) should be considered key drivers of Big Data, and their relevance to knowledge-intensive industries is bound to knowledge management, ultimately linking to innovation.

The Importance of Investing in Knowledge Management

As more than 50% of large organizations claim to be on a path of Open Innovation, it is essential to address how innovative ideas are transferred to the acquisition team. This is especially significant during mergers and acquisitions when data stored across different repositories is not adequately acquired. Hence investing in employees and seeking knowledge beyond the organization's frontiers is crucial. Knowledge management is a powerful organizational tool that can contribute significantly to supporting change processes.

Conclusion

Innovation is vital for organizations, particularly to thrive and grow sustainably. The interplay between AI, knowledge management, and radical innovation is essential and cannot be ignored. Hence navigating the Open Innovation and Knowledge Management space is crucial for organizations to remain consumer-driven while remaining innovative in a rapidly changing marketplace.

About the Author

Dr. Heather Johnson is a scientist, an engineer, a scholar, and a practitioner who loves to integrate science, engineering, radical innovation, and technology to help corporations become world-class business performers amid volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. She holds a Doctor of Management degree in Technology Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She also has a Master of Science degree in Quality Management with a focus on Technology and Engineering from Eastern Michigan University. Dr. Johnson is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and an American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Auditor (CQA).

You can find more information about Dr. Johnson on her LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sciengtech/.

KMCarolinas

We are a group of professionals from diverse backgrounds who are passionate about knowledge management practices and their value in helping the Carolinians gain a competitive edge. Visit us to find out more at https://sites.google.com/view/kmcarolinas/home.