The dynamics of Knowledge Management and Innovation in the Indian manufacturing sectors: A Systems Perspective

Abstract

Innovation is vital in current organizations irrespective of the domain. In a knowledge economy, enhanced use of knowledge can lead to faster, less risky and more vibrant innovation. Innovation is a knowledge intensive process which means that the knowledge of the employees must be managed well and synergized to the optimum. This calls for the implementation of a good Knowledge Management (KM) practice. KM is a process of managing the knowledge of the people in the organization just like the other resources viz. man, material and money are managed. A successful KM practice depends on the interaction of the three basic cores viz. people, process, and technology. This study identifies the influence of the above-mentioned cores on the effectiveness of the KM processes like, Knowledge creation, acquisition, and application. Though there are several literatures in this area, there is no model which studies the influence of these parameters from a systems perspective. With the above standpoint in focus, the purpose of this paper is to delineate through System Dynamics (SD) simulation the influence of the strategic enablers of KM on innovative ability of the manufacturing firm.