Knowledge sharing in new product development in SME's in South Africa.
Date
2014-08-13
Authors
Van der Linde., Roelof Johannes
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Journal ISSN
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Abstract
Abstract
Organisations are operating in an increasingly competitive environment that is marked by
rapid technological development and shortened product life cycles. In this environment,
effective knowledge management is becoming crucial because competitive advantage is
now based on economies of expertise, rather than economies of scale. However, successful
knowledge management initiatives, especially those that benefit new product development,
depend on a number of critical success factors, which differ between large and small
organisations.
This research sheds some light on the factors applicable to small- to medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) by identifying common themes from semi-structured interviews held
with respondents involved with new product development in SMEs in South Africa. It
was found that these initiatives should be based on a personalisation strategy because it
will increase the efficacy of knowledge management activities. This will in turn, improve
the organisation’s new product development capability.
Description
MBA 2013
Keywords
Knowledge management,New products,Small business.