Managing Initiatives: A Synthesis of the Conditioning and Knowledge-Creating View Defended on Thursday, 30 October 2003

Initiatives are an important source of renewal for the competitive advantage of firms. Research shows that many firms have difficulty incorporating them into their existing activities, particularly because of their explorative nature. This study has sought to shed light on the issue by combining two perspectives that previously have barely been integrated: the condition and knowledge creation perspectives. The interchange between organizational conditions and knowledge creation has been investigated through a case study method in 24 initiatives in three firms, namely Ericsson Telecommunication, KLM Cargo, and Van Ommeren. The results of the study show that management can have a strong influence on the progression of initiatives by manipulating the organizational conditions and knowledge base.

Keywords

initiatives, entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, knowledge creation, knowledge management, co-evolution, organizational conditions


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