Knowledge sharing in new product development in SME's in South Africa.

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.