Knowledge management methods need to be selected depending on the purpose for which knowledge is ‘being managed’. In this article, purpose is considered in terms of encouraging knowledge creation in new product development (NPD) projects. Given that companies have started to deploy a number of knowledge management methods in support of NPD efforts, the central aim of this research is to investigate how ten such methods support knowledge creation during the development of new products. We provide evidence from a survey of 356 responses of members of 94 NPD projects on the utilization of (and satisfaction with) 14 knowledge management methods. The 10 highest rated knowledge management methods (in terms of satisfaction) are discussed in more detail, explaining how they operate to support knowledge creation in NPD projects, and illustrated with examples from companies such as ABB, Siemens, BP Amoco, Volkswagen, IBM, HP, and others. Moreover, we highlight ways to evaluate the contribution of such knowledge management methods.
Knowledge management methods need to be selected depending on the purpose for which knowledge is ‘being managed’. In our investigation, purpose was considered in terms of encouraging knowledge creation in new product development (NPD) projects. As such, this article goes beyond a large and growing literature on knowledge management pertaining to the capturing, locating, transferring, and sharing of primarily existing knowledge (von Krogh, Ichijo, & Nonaka, 2000). By contrast, our research addresses the question of creating new knowledge to support new product development in organizations (see Figure 1).
Although the first and second steps in Figure 1 stress the exploitation of existing knowledge or the dissemination of new knowledge, most beneficial for innovation and NPD is the creation of new knowledge (Armbrecht Jr. et al., 2001). As Ruggles (1998) states: “While the ever-popular efforts involving capture, access, and transfer of knowledge can lead to increased efficiency, knowledge generation is the key to growth.” Consequently, managers face the challenge of identifying and selecting those knowledge management methods that enable the organization to reach and to excellently perform the third stage of the evolution of knowledge management initiatives, i.e., creating and enabling.
Given that companies have started to deploy a number of knowledge management methods in support of NPD efforts, the central aim of this research is to investigate how ten such methods support knowledge creation during the development of new products. The remainder of this article divides into three parts.
First, we provide evidence from a survey of 356 responses of members of 94 NPD projects on the utilization of, and satisfaction with, 14 knowledge management methods. In particular, we investigated (1) which knowledge management methods companies are familiar with, (2) which of these methods they actually deployed, and (3) to what level of satisfaction. The vast majority of respondents were NPD project managers, product managers, or R & D directors.
Second, in the main part of this paper, we explain how the 10 highest-rated knowledge management methods (in terms of satisfaction) operate to support knowledge creation in NPD projects. In doing so, we provide case examples from companies such as ABB, Siemens, BP Amoco, Volkswagen, IBM, HP, and others, that participated in our research.
Third, we close by highlighting ways for assessing the value contribution of such knowledge management methods. Specifically, we discuss the assessment of knowledge management activities and knowledge management results.
In this article we demonstrated that there are a number of knowledge management methods that have the potential to strongly support knowledge creation in NPD projects. This article explains how 10 such methods affect different modes of knowledge creation (i.e., socialization, externalization, combination, internalization) and provides examples of how companies have successfully deployed them. Not solely based on evidence of their effectiveness in companies, but also on the conceptual arguments provided in this article, we believe that the deliberate and concerted management of knowledge can offer a great leverage for the improvement of NPD processes in organizations.
