Role of knowledge management in service innovation in knowledge intensive organisations in emerging markets

Abstract

In a fast-changing world, it is becoming all the more difficult for organisations to remain competitive and for this reason they need to be innovative. This innovation challenge is greater for knowledge intensive service organisations, since service innovation is harder than product innovation. While links have been established between knowledge management and innovation, limited research has been conducted regarding the influence of knowledge management on service innovation in knowledge intensive organisations. This limited research was mainly conducted in developed economies and not in emerging markets, where it is argued that innovation occurs differently. A quantitative methodology was used to understand the influence of knowledge management on service innovation in these organisations in emerging markets. An online questionnaire resulted in 130 usable responses. The results indicated moderate to strong relationships between knowledge management processes and underlying service innovation capabilities and the innovation culture of a knowledge intensive organisation. The application of knowledge emerged as a strong influence on customer focused innovation capability and innovation culture. The results produced in an emerging market agreed with results from developed markets. Further research is to be conducted with a larger sample across a wider range of knowledge intensive organisations to generalise the conclusions made.