Knowledge management capabilities in R&D: a UK‐‐Japan company comparison
Knowledge management capabilities in R&D: a UK‐‐Japan company comparison
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研发知识管理能力：英日公司比较
DOI：
10.1111/1467-9310.00221
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发表时间：
2001
期刊：
影响因子：
6.3
通讯作者：
S. Collinson
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Collinson
本文采用“知识为基础”的方法比较了两家领先的化学公司的研发管理，一家是英国的（ICI plc），另一家是日本的。它描述了它们在整合业务单位的“近市场”知识和中央研发机构的研发人员的科学知识和技术专长的方式上的关键差异。研究表明，支撑日本公司卓越“综合能力”的管理实践，包括研发的中央资金、工作轮换和职业结构以及多学科项目团队，也导致了重大的研发弱点。比较表明，在不同的创新背景下，需要不同的组织机制来支持(1)专业知识的发展和(2)专业知识的利用。公司必须能够在综合能力和专业能力之间取得平衡，以最大限度地利用他们的研发。此外，支撑这些能力的上述特征通常“嵌入”在更广泛的组织中，这使得它们在代表“最佳实践”时难以模仿，但也使它们难以应对新的威胁和机遇。
This paper uses a ‘knowledge-based’ approach to compare the management of R&D in two leading chemicals companies, one British (ICI plc) and one Japanese. It describes key differences in the ways they integrate the ‘near-market’ knowledge of business units and the scientific knowledge and technical expertise of R&D personnel in central R&D facilities. It shows that the same management practices that underpin superior ‘integrative capabilities’ in the Japanese firm, including central funding of R&D, job-rotation and career structures and multidisciplinary project teams, also result in significant R&D weaknesses. The comparison demonstrates that different organisational mechanisms are needed to support (1) the development and (2) the leveraging of specialist knowledge within different innovation contexts. Firms must be able to strike a balance between integrative and specialist capabilities to get the most from their R&D. Moreover, the above characteristics which underpin these capabilities are often ‘embedded’ in the broader organisation making them difficult to emulate when they represent ‘best-practice’ but also making them difficult to change in response to new threats and opportunities.