About the Book
Technology-based firms continue to compete primarily on innovation, and one continuously required to present new solutions to an exacting market. As technological complexity and specialization intensifies, firms increasingly need to integrate and co-ordinate knowledge by means of project groups, diversified organizations, inter-organizational partnerships, and strategic alliances. Innovation processes have progressively become interdisciplinary, collaborative, inter-organizational, and international, and a firm's ability to synthesize knowledge across disciplines, organizations, and geographical locations has a major influence on its viability and success.
This book demonstrates how knowledge integration is crucial in facilitating innovation within modern firms. This book provides original, detailed empirical studies of prerequisites, mechanisms, and outcomes of knowledge integration processes on several organizational levels, from key individuals, projects, and internal organizations, to collaboration between firms. It stresses the need to understand knowledge integration as a multi-level phenomenon, which requires a broad repertoire of organizational and technical means. It further clarifies the need for strong internal capabilities for exploiting external knowledge, reveals how costs of knowledge integration affect outcomes and strategic decisions, and discusses the managerial implications of fostering knowledge integration, providing practical guidance and support for managers of knowledge integration in high technology enterprises.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
1: Christian Berggren, Anna Bergek, Lars Bengtsson and Jonas Söderlund: Exploring Knowledge Integration and Innovation
2: Fredrik Tell: Knowledge Integration and Innovation: A Survey of the Field
Part I: People and Processes
3: Lars Lindkvist, Marie Bengtsson and Linnea Wahlstedt: Knowledge Integration and Creation in Projects: Towards a Progressive Epistemology
5: Hans Andersson and Christian Berggren: Inventors as Innovators and Knowledge Integrators
6: Jonas Söderlund and Karin Bredin: Participants in the Process of Knowledge Integration
Part II: Projects and Partnerships
6: Thomas Magnusson and Nicolette Lakemond: Knowledge Integration Processes in New Product Development: on the Dynamics of Deadlines and Architectures
7: Mattias Johansson, Mattias Axelson, Cecilia Enberg and Fredrik Tell: Knowledge Integration in Inter-firm R&D Collaboration: How do Firms Manage Problems of Coordination and Cooperation?
8: Jonas Söderlund and Fredrik Tell: Knowledge Integration in a P-form Corporation: Project Epochs in the Evolution of Asea/ABB 1945-2000.
Part III: Strategies and Outcomes
9: Lars Bengtsson, Mandar Dabhilkar and Robin von Haartman: Knowledge Integration Challenges when Outsourcing Manufacturing
10: Mandar Dabhilkar and Lars Bengtsson: Trade-Offs in Make-Buy Decisions: Exploring Operating Realities of Knowledge Integration and Innovation
11: Anna Bergek, Christian Berggren and Thomas Magnusson: Creative Accumulation: Integrating New and Established Technologies in Periods of Discontinuous Change
Conclusion
12: Mike Hobday and Anna Bergek: Lessons and Insights for Managers
About the Author :
Christian Berggren has written or co-authored several books on production and product development in international firms, such as The Volvo experience (MacMillan, 1992), The Resilience of Corporate Japan (Sage, 1997), Being local world-wide - ABB and the challenge of global management (Cornell, 1999), as well as many publications in journal such as Creativity and Innovation Management, Industrial and Corporate Change, Research Policy,
R&D Management, Sloan Management Review, Technology Analysis, and Strategic Management and Technovation. His current research focuses on technological competition, innovation, and knowledge integration in the automotive industry
Anna Bergek is a research leader within the KITE research programme at Linköping University. She has an MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management and a PhD in Technology Management. She has published articles on industry dynamics, firm strategy in relation to technical change, and innovation and energy policy in journals such as Energy Policy, Industrial and Corporate Change, Research Policy, Technovation and Technology Analysis, and Strategic Management. Her current
research focuses discontinuous innovation in mature phases of the industry life cycle. Lars Bengtsson is also Professor within a PhD school at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. He holds an MSc in
Engineering Physics and a PhD in Industrial Management and Work Science. He has published many articles and books on the subjects of continuous improvements, manufacturing strategies, and outsourcing. His current research focuses the significance of manufacturing competence, logistics management, and outsourcing for the innovation capability of industrial firms. Michael Hobday's research interests include project based innovation in high value complex products and systems. As well as many
journal publications, he is the author of various books including Innovation in East Asia: The Challenge to Japan (Edward Elgar, 1997), co-author of The Business of Projects: Managing Innovation in Complex
Products and Systems (with Andrew Davies, Cambridge University Press, 2005), and co-editor of The Business of Systems Integration (with Andrea Prencipe and Andrew Davies, Oxford University Press, 2003). Jonas Söderlund was educated at Linköping University, Harvard Business School, and MIT. Dr Söderlund has researched and published widely on the management and organization of projects and project-based firms and the evolution of project competence, including
papers in Organization Studies, Human Resource Management, International Journal of Innovation Management and International Business Review. He is the author or co-author of five books and one of the editors of The Oxford Handbook on
Project Management.
Review :
Well written and easily readable ... Managers will profit from the recommendations, if only in the sense to widen their perspectives, and researchers with interests in knowledge management and interface management gain access to a particular stream of knowledge integration research together with some interesting proposals for further study.
This book is an impressive achievement and tribute to the power of multidisciplinary longitudinal research. Through penetrating case studies and systematic literature reviews, the KITE researchers make an outstanding contribution to knowledge integration and innovation in businesses and industries
