“What are the drivers and barriers to innovate in networks?”

“What are the drivers and barriers to innovate in networks?”

Kandpal, P.

Verburg, R.M. (mentor)

Technology, Policy and Management

Innovation Systems

Management of Technology

2015-12-03

Role of innovation in enhancing the competitiveness and economic development of the organization, society, country and world is important. It thrives on the knowledge which is available in public and private domains. However, it is the ability to acquire, synthesize, utilize, and share and use of knowledge which can aid innovation. This thesis intends to present the drivers and barriers of knowledge networks which aid innovation. Sharing and networking of knowledge within the knowledge network can not only improve the ability of network members to grow their knowledge base but also helps in innovation. However successful design, management, and deployment of knowledge network to aid innovation is catalyzed by drivers and challenged by barriers. The main aim of this research is to identify these barriers and drivers within the networks. In order to do so, we conducted case study analysis across 8 cases operational towards innovation. A comprehensive list of barriers and drivers were identified in the study which was consistent with the drivers and barriers identified in the literature review. Other than these, the researcher also identified some of the drivers and barriers which have not been discussed in the literature review. The list of drivers within the network include; environmental factors, technological factors, knowledge exchange, and boundary spanning. The list of barriers identified within the knowledge network include; lack of scale, financial constraints, disruption by external parties, presence of weak ties, lack of organizational commitment, and lack of infrastructure. Some of the new barriers which were identified during case analysis were; lack of proper communication, lack of time to bring innovation within the network, lack of tools which could measure the outcome and efficiency of innovation within the network, lack of filtration in the knowledge which was shared within the network. On the other hand, presence of trust between the network members, coherence within the network members due to proper communication, and marketing strategies to pitch for funding and also the promotion of innovation were some of the new drivers identified.

knowledge networks
innovation
barriers
drivers

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:209d80c3-be78-45aa-9ee7-303e8e0d43d4

2015-12-03

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2015 Kandpal, P.