Knowledge Integration by SMEs - Practice

Chaps. 1 and 2 outlined the relevance and difference of KM for SMEs and discussed the concept of knowledge integration (KI). These chapters were based on theory in diverse settings. The crucial question that was dropped there was how high-tech SMEs conduct KI in their NPD practice. Existing studies are of limited use for answering this question for several reasons. Firstly, while concentrating on knowledge identification and acquisition, they disregard the way knowledge is used within the company. Secondly, they pay little attention to the different types of knowledge that are needed during NPD. Thirdly, they do not accord the Internet the prominent position it deserves. This chapter addresses these deficiencies of existing research by reporting the findings of a systematic empirical investigation of KI for NPD in high-tech SMEs. The chapter is organized as follows. Sect. 3.2 discusses the research framework, followed by an explanation of method in Sect. 3.3. Sects. 3.4 and 3.5 present the results of our study, and in Sect. 3.6 we conclude and discuss its implications.