Innovation

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the tensions from two opposite forces: the need for formalization (static knowledge) on the one hand and the tacit understanding that implies creativity and innovation (dynamic knowledge) on the other. In order to explore these concepts, the means of overcoming this confrontation are analyzed – in other words the “knowledge vision” of management, the knowledge culture(s) in organizations, and the profiles of actors who create, capture, organize, and integrate knowledge into organizational practices. Finally, a model is proposed to identify the transformation from static into dynamic knowledge flow amongst actors, facilitating the organizational innovation process. The main goal is to explore how competition is leading firms to increasingly base their competitiveness on two intertwined factors connected by learning: valuable knowledge and innovation (Swan et al., 2002).