Enabling knowledge creation: learning from an R&D organization

Abstract

The ability to create knowledge and diffuse it throughout an organization is today recognized as a major strategic capability for gaining competitive advantage. Scholars and managers have shown an increasing interest in understanding and managing organizational knowledge. Despite this, there are few examples in the literature that bridge the gap between knowledge and knowledge application. This article develops a knowledge management initiative which facilitates knowledge creation and sharing beyond project boundaries, based on exploratory research at pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The results indicate that, by allowing the emergence of knowledge facilitators, practical knowledge for action is produced and shared. The article explores the dynamic and relational nature of knowledge when managing knowledge, it then develops actionable tools for lateral knowledge creation and knowledge transfer, and concludes with implications for managers using the tools.

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