Omissions in managing knowledge in innovation processes or how to handle knowledge, humans and tasks: A semio-cognitive approach

In organizations, innovation is a long-lasting process that is difficult to manage. Innovation is characterized by the use of new (combinations of) knowledge. Innovation, as knowledge creation, is also an activity of individuals. However, neither the individual nor knowledge is studied as appropriate unit of analysis in innovation and knowledge management literature. In this chapter, we start with two cases from the literature that indicate problems with respect to knowledge in innovation projects. In a more fundamental review of the literature, we identify five serious omissions with respect to the management of knowledge in innovation processes, such as the difficulty to deal with the dynamics of knowledge and the lack of dealing with task dependencies between individuals. In order to repair these problems, we introduce a cognitive framework in which knowledge content (domain) and type (the way knowledge is presented) are distinguished. In the conclusion, we benchmark the cognitive framework with the current methods using the five omissions as guidelines. This contribution is analytical, diagnostic, and conceptual. In the conclusion a framework is designed that is empirically tested in various innovation projects (Cijsouw 2006).