An examination of the process of knowledge complementarity between technological knowledge and customer knowledge

• Main Authors: Yao, Chen Yen, 姚成彥
• Other Authors: Wu, Se Hwa
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/93895255295143319551

博士 === 國立政治大學 === 科技管理研究所 === 97 === Global enterprises are currently engaged in continuous innovation to compete and sustain themselves in the dynamic changing market. The development of innovation is a process of novel combination of different kinds of knowledge. Both technological and customer knowledge have been identified as crucial for building knowledge complementarity for delivery of innovation. Researches have examined the existence of complementarity between inputs and the effect of output. Nevertheless, detailed understanding of the process of knowledge complementarity development is still lacking. The objective of this study is to develop a complete concept of knowledge complementarity with a thorough understanding of how technological knowledge complements customer knowledge in the process of adaptation and innovation. There are two research questions, as follows. (1) How can we define knowledge complementarity between the two kinds of organizational knowledge (technological knowledge and customer knowledge)? (2) How do organizations manage knowledge complementarity between technological knowledge and customer knowledge for innovation? Through iterative analyses of the existing literature and examination of empirical data, this study clarifies the definition of knowledge complementarity as a situation in which one source supplies knowledge that another source lacks, thus increasing the total value for achieving a specific purpose through knowledge interaction. The process of building knowledge complementarity starts with sensing the insufficiency of knowledge for a specific goal and identifying sources that can satisfy the deficiency. Then, through knowledge interactions, the scope and depth of the knowledge of the interactive parties are increased and evolved, resulting in an increased innovative value for the specific purpose. Based on the literature review and observation of case studies of T Probe Card and Cyber Software, five propositions were formulated. These propositions concern the sequences of the process of knowledge complementarity and different types of knowledge interaction for knowledge complementarity. The three types of knowledge complementarity identified are: infrastructural complementarity, emergent complementarity, and opportunity complementarity. In different to the static view to examine the relationship between knowledge management variables, this study uses a dynamic view to understand knowledge interaction between R&D and sales department in the process of building knowledge complementarity. This process-oriented study not only examines the existence of complementarity but also provides the explanation for "how" something happened and the sequence of events leading to the outcome. Rather than placing focus on the interactive activities, the underlying point of this study is on the knowledge itself. Operationalizable indexes of the scope and depth of knowledge interaction have been clearly developed for the purpose of examining knowledge interaction and their interplay in different types of knowledge complementarity. The concept, process and distinctive types of knowledge complementarity provide essential input to innovation and knowledge management. Organizations intent to build sustained innovation capability could benefit from this study by dynamically managing knowledge interactions for complementarity of different purposes.