Creating Innovative Products: The Role of Existing Knowledge

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This research studies organizations' exploitation of existing knowledge to promote innovation, with a long-term research goal to understand how existing knowledge can improve the survival and success of firms and industries. Theories on organizational evolution are used as a basis for the study. Three sequential methods-case study, longitudinal archival study and a multi-industry survey-will be used to examine the research questions. The organizational partners are firms in the robotics and computer hardware industries. The partners have provided access to information and people involved in both successful and unsuccessful R&D projects.The proposed research is novel in several ways. First, the study is unique theoretically, because it brings together previously disjoint literatures of product development and organizational evolution. The second distinctive contribution of this project is that it provides evidence for the value of exploiting existing knowledge. Much innovation research underestimates or neglects the potential of such knowledge, yet its impact on product innovation can be significant. Third, the project is important nationally. It promotes a better understanding of innovation and technological change, two main forces driving national growth and competitiveness.